Russia to equip and train China’s paratroopers for large airdrop ops tied to Taiwan.

The Royal United Services Institute analyzes leaked files showing Russia preparing to equip and train a PLA airborne battalion with air-droppable armor, UAVs, and precision airdrop systems, capabilities relevant to a Taiwan contingency. 

According to information published by the Royal United Services Institute, on September 26, 2025, documents describing a 2023 framework show Russia preparing to equip and train People’s Liberation Army airborne and air assault units for large-scale airdrop operations relevant to any move against Taiwan. The package centers on a battalion set of air-droppable fighting vehicles, precision cargo parachutes, unmanned aircraft, and instructor teams transferring the tactics of multi-pallet airdrops. It is a full airborne combined arms slice built around armor that can be pushed from IL-76 class transports, rally under fire, and fight immediately to secure lodgments for follow-on forces.
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Chinese airborne forces could soon field Russian BMD-4M and Sprut-SDM1 vehicles, precision airdrop systems, and Orlan drones, giving the PLA a battalion-level capability to insert armor by air in a Taiwan scenario (Picture source: Vitaly V.Kuzmin).

At the core of the vehicle mix is the BMD 4M, an amphibious assault vehicle engineered for VDV-style drops. The BMD-4M mounts a stabilized 100 mm 2A70 rifled gun paired coaxially with a 30 mm 2A72 automatic cannon and a 7.62 mm PKTM, giving it the ability to switch from high explosive point demolition to armor piercing bursts without changing platforms. The 2A70 fires gun-launched anti-tank guided missiles from the same tube, allowing shots against armor or hardened points beyond direct line of sight. Combat weight is roughly 13.5 tons, light enough for parachute delivery on multi-platform rigs. A 500 hp UTD 29 diesel pushes the vehicle to about 70 km per hour on road and 10 km per hour in water, with an independent hydropneumatic suspension that can raise and lower ride height to reduce silhouette on landing or clear obstacles in urban clutter. Crew is typically three with room for five to six paratroopers, and the latest fire control package integrates day-night optics, laser rangefinding, and an automatic target tracker to keep rounds on target during short halts.

The long arm of the battalion is the Sprut SDM1, a lightweight self-propelled gun built around a 125 mm 2A75 series smoothbore. The Sprut uses the same family of separate loading ammunition as Russian main battle tanks, including APFSDS, HEAT, HE fragmentation, and gun-launched 9M119 series missiles that allow top attack profiles against armor at extended range. With a combat weight in the 18-ton class and a 450 to 510 hp powerpack, the Sprut runs to about 70 km per hour on road and maintains swim capability at roughly 7 km per hour. An autoloader feeds the weapon from a carousel with more than twenty ready rounds, stabilizers keep the tube on while moving, and the digital FCS provides hunter-killer engagement where the commander designates and the gunner finishes. The hull borrows components from the BMD 4M to preserve commonality for spares and training, and the chassis is fitted with tie-down points and structural reinforcement for parachute landing platforms.

Mobility and sustainment come from the BTR MDM Rakushka, a stretched airborne armored carrier that moves squads, ammunition, and medical kits from the drop zone to the fight. The Rakushka’s combat weight is in the 13-ton range, with seating for a driver, commander, and up to 12 troops depending on fit. It is amphibious, has a road speed of around 70 km per hour, and carries a roof-mounted 7.62 mm machine gun for local security. Electrical and data architecture on the latest builds supports integration of Chinese radios and battle management software, which is crucial if the PLA intends to fold these platforms into its existing digital command environment. The battalion set typically includes command post and reconnaissance variants, along with Rheostat-style artillery fire direction vehicles that link airborne guns and mortars to forward observers within minutes of landing.

The air delivery architecture is as important as the armor. Multi-platform airdrop systems compatible with Il-76 and Il-78 transports use palletized platforms with extraction parachutes to pull vehicles from the cargo bay, followed by main canopies and braking rockets that arrest descent just before touchdown. Train landing rigs allow crews to push multiple loads in sequence with calculated spacing so vehicles land across a single drop zone in the order needed for rapid assembly. Precision cargo parachute kits rated for roughly 150 to 200 kilograms give planners the option to release radios, sensor nodes, small generators, jammers, and demolition sets from altitude to reconnaissance teams already on the ground, reducing risk to the main formation. These are paired with rigging manuals, loadmaster checklists, and pilot training for formation drops that preserve vertical and horizontal separation while minimizing time over defended airspace.

Airborne eyes and targeting come from the Orlan class unmanned aircraft. The Orlan-10 family typically flies 12 to 16 hours with a control radius around 120 to 140 kilometers, carrying EO/IR payloads, a laser designator on some configurations, and a communications relay package to extend VHF/UHF nets over broken terrain. Launch and recovery are simple catapult-and-net systems that can be brought in by airborne logistics teams. In a Taiwan scenario, reconnaissance detachments could deploy Orlan systems ahead of the main wave to map radar emissions, confirm drop zone wind profiles, and mark rally points with encrypted beacons that guide vehicles as they land scattered by coastal winds.

BMD-4M platoons can punch through light obstacles with 100 mm HE and sweep air defense trailers, vehicles, and infantry positions with 30 mm bursts while the Sprut SDM1 holds anti-armor overwatch against counterattacking mechanized elements. Rakushka carriers shorten the resupply loop so paratroopers are not fighting dry before the first counterstrike. Rheostat vehicles stitch Orlan feeds into a quick-and-dirty fire plan for mortars and attached guns, enabling suppressive fires within minutes of landing. The hydropneumatic suspension and amphibious hulls matter in Taiwan’s coastal estuaries, golf courses, reclaimed land, and canal-cut industrial parks, where drop zones are rarely ideal and flooded ground is common. The goal is to turn scattered drops into a coherent lodgment fast enough that counterattacks arrive piecemeal rather than as a coordinated armored shove.

By transferring airdrop tradecraft alongside vehicles, Moscow helps Beijing to prepare a potential military operation on Taiwan. For Russia, the arrangement keeps factories working and deepens defense-industrial coupling with China at a moment when sanctions put pressure on Russian economy. For China, it offers a hedge against amphibious friction by adding a second axis of entry that forces Taiwan to defend beyond beaches and ports. For the United States and allies, the signal is that PLA airborne units must be treated as combined arms forces capable of delivering tank-class effects inland, not just light raiding parties. That judgment should flow into air defense laydowns, rapid runway denial planning, and armored counterattack playbooks keyed to likely unconventional drop zones.

Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group.

Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.