| Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence | |
|---|---|
| Войска радиационной, химической и биологической защиты Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации (Войска РХБ защиты ВС РФ) | |
 Great emblem of the Russian NBC Protection Troops | |
| Active | 13 November 1918 – present |
| Country |  Russia |
| Branch |  Russian Armed Forces |
| Type | CBRN defense |
| Role | Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence |
| Part of | Ministry of Defense |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Vacant |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
TheTroops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence[1] of theRussian Armed Forces (Russian:Войска радиационной, химической и биологической защиты Вооружённых сил Российской Федерации,abbr. 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 theGround Forces and ensuring their combat tasks assigned during operations in conditions ofradioactive, chemical and biological contamination, as well as at enhancing their survivability and protection against high-precision and other weapons.[2]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: The pre-1944 history of the Chemical Troops, given their 1918 founding. You can help byadding to it.(December 2024) |
In 1944, theRed 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 MajorVladimir Pikalov (promoted toColonel 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 theChernobyl 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 aHero of the Soviet Union for his actions there.
Among the 23 brigades of the Chemical Troops in the late 1980s were the1st Brigade at Shikhany-2 (Vol'sk-18), two kilometres fromShikhany, in theSaratov Oblast of theVolga Military District, 2nd Brigade atTeikovo in theMoscow Military District, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th, 12th,16th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 26th,27th,28th, and the29th located inSeverodonetsk in theKyiv Military District.[5]
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 GeneralIgor Kirillov, was killed in a bombing inMoscow.[6]
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 asRadiological, Chemical and Biological (RChB) troops. They often work within acombined armsarmy. Their main tasks include:[2]
The NBC Protection Troops are organised for both conduct of hostilities using nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and without them and includes:
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 strongelectronic 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 atBagay-Baranovka inSaratov Oblast.
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What follows is a partial list as of November 2018 of military hardware available to the Russian NBCP troops:[7]
This article incorporatestext by Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation available under theCC BY 4.0 license.
Media related toNBC Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces at Wikimedia Commons