There are many different abbreviations found in military literature. Each of them hides either weapons, or military equipment, or a certain type or type of troops. Army pilots of foreign countries have special respect for the Russian abbreviation for air defense, which stands for "air defense".
Air Defense - Country Air Shield
Air defense of the country is a separate type of armed support as part of measures to protect the state from an air attack. The first units designed to combat the air threat were created in Russia even before the revolution, back in 1914. Equipped with light cannons and machine gun mounts, these formations successfully opposed German airplanes.
But the real test of the readiness of the air defense system for the country's defense was the Great Patriotic War. During air battles on the outskirts of Moscow and Leningrad, Soviet anti-aircraft gunners inflicted significant damage to the fascist aviation. Over the entire war period, air defense units destroyed or disabled more than seven thousand enemy aircraft.
The importance of air defense for the state is so great that a special holiday has been established in the country - the Day of the Air Defense Forces, which, according to tradition, is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of April. The time for the holiday was not chosen by chance. It was in April that the most important decisions were made regarding the organization of this type of troops, their formation and development.
Constant alert troops
The modern air defense forces of Russia are a branch of the armed forces whose functions include covering military and civilian facilities and military formations from possible attacks from the air attack means of a potential enemy. Domestic air defense units are able to destroy enemy aircraft at various altitudes, regardless of flight speed.
In peacetime, air defense units carry out round-the-clock combat duty, vigilantly guarding the country's air borders and approaches to especially important objects of strategic importance. If the need arises to participate in real hostilities, the air defense forces will be able to conduct aerial reconnaissance, notify ground targets of the threat of an attack from the air and destroy enemy aircraft and other means of attack by all available means.
From the point of view of the organizational structure, the air defense forces consist of command and control bodies, hidden command posts, radio-technical and anti-aircraft missile units, as well as aviation. The units are distinguished by high mobility and survivability. Hidden from prying eyes, detection equipment and rocket launchers are capable of detecting enemy aircraft at distant approaches and timely neutralizing enemy air attack weapons.
