Russian airborne forces leader Colonel General Shpak admitted during a recent interview that his forces' light armored vehicles all desperately needed an overhaul. The BMD-1 airborne fighting vehicles and BTR-D armored personnel carriers are obsolete (having entered the inventory in 1969 and 1974, respectively), with up to 80 percent of those still in service having been operated for at least 15 years and 95 percent of those having undergone one (or even two) major overhauls. Only 7 percent of the entire fleet are the latest generation BMD3s. - Adam Geibel