The Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence[1] of the Russian Armed Forces (Russian: Войска радиационной, химической и биологической защиты Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации (Войска РХБ защиты ВС РФ), romanized: Voyska radiatsionnoy khimicheskoy i biologicheskoy zashchiti Vooruzhyonn'kh sil Rossiyskoy Federatsii (Voyska RKhB zashchiti VS RF)) are an organisation designed to reduce the losses of the Ground Forces and ensuring their combat tasks assigned during operations in conditions of radioactive, chemical and biological contamination, as well as at enhancing their survivability and protection against high-precision and other weapons.[2]
History
This section needs expansion with: The pre-1944 history of the Chemical Troops, given their 1918 founding. You can help by adding to it. (December 2024)
In 1944, the Red Army's Chemical Troops had 19 brigades (14 technical and five chemical protection). After the end of World War II, most of them were disbanded.[3]
General Major Vladimir Pikalov (promoted to Colonel General by 1975) commanded the Chemical Troops of the Ministry of Defence from March 1968 to December 1988. He was in charge of the specialised military units at the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plantdisaster. Pikalov arrived at the scene on the afternoon of 26 April 1986, and assumed command of the specialised military units there.[4] General Pikalov was later made a Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions there.
In 1992, the Chemical Troops within the Russian Armed Forces were renamed the NBC Protection Troops.
On 17 December 2024, the unit's commander, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, was killed in a bombing in Moscow.[6]
Structure and tasks
A UTM-80M heat treatment machine cleans a TOS-1 Buratino heavy flamethrower MLRS. NBC Protection Troops shock troops from the 27th Separate Brigade of NBC Protection, during training with the support of motorized rifle, tank and artillery units of the 20th Guards CAA, liberated the "captured" city in conditions of radiation contamination of the area.Armored personnel carrier BTR-82A with troops in NBC suits. NBC Protection Troops shock troops from the 27th Separate Brigade of NBC Protection, during training with the support of motorized rifle, tank and artillery units of the 20th Guards CAA, liberated the "captured" city in conditions of radiation contamination of the area.
The basis of the NBC Protection Troops are multifunctional separate NBCP brigades which have subunits capable to perform all NBC protection activities. The Russians know them as Radiological, Chemical and Biological (RChB) troops. They often work within a combined armsarmy. Their main tasks include:[2]
identification and assessment of radiological, chemical and biological environment, scales and effects of damages of objects hazardous radiatively, chemically and biologically;
protection of formations and units against the nuclear effects of mass destruction weapons and radiological, chemical and biological contamination;
reducing the visibility of troops and facilities;
disaster (damage) recovery in objects hazardous radiatively, chemically and biologically;
causing loss to the enemy by using flame-incendiary means.
The NBC Protection Troops are organised for both conduct of hostilities using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and without them and includes:
collection and processing of data and information on radiological, chemical and biological environment;
notification of troops on NBC contamination;
conducting special treatment (decontamination, degassing and disinfection) of armaments, military and special equipment, buildings and other objects, as well as sanitisation of personnel;
aerosol counteraction against the enemy’s reconnaissance and targeting means.[2]
The NBCP Troops are developing as dual-purpose forces, able to solve tasks both in war and peace times, in the aftermath of accidents and disasters in industrial facilities hazardous radiatively, chemically and biologically. Further build-up of their capacity is realized by creating a modern system to identify and assess the extent and effects of weapons of mass destruction, integrated with automated control systems of troops and weapons and stable functioning in the NBC threat environment and strong electronic countermeasures. In addition, there is a process to equip formations, units and subdivisions of NBCP with new, highly effective means of NBC reconnaissance, individual and collective defence, technical means of reducing the visibility and masking, flame-throwing incendiary weapons, as well as to introduce improved materials, formulations, methods and technical means of decontamination.[2][7]
The 395th Independent Test Aviation Squadron which supports the NBCP Troops is based at Bagay-Baranovka in Saratov Oblast.
TDA-3 smoke generator on a 3-axle 53501 Kamaz chassis, is designed to camouflage military facilities
TMS-65 is a specialized chemical vehicle on Ural-375 undercarriage
RKhM-6 is a chemical reconnaissance vehicle on a four-axle BTR-80 base
RPM-2 is a radiological reconnaissance vehicle on a four-axle BTR-80 base
UTM-80 heat engine, designed to clean other equipment after exposure to NCB threats
Units
Troops of the RKhBZ of the Russian army, parked at exercisesTDA-3 unit. An exercise in the Kursk region for the 27th separate brigade of the RKhBZ to eliminate the consequences of chemical contamination.
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