Combat Approved
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Listva: The Nuclear Missile Bodyguard. Unique vehicle fries IEDs to protect Yars mobile nukes
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Yasen-M: Destroyer of the Depths. Potent electronic weapons & supersonic missiles – a sneak peek at Russia’s Yasen-M sub
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The military in the Arctic - Part 1. ATVs put to the frozen test in blizzards & ice
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The Military in the Arctic - Part 2. Across a frozen sea aboard Russian ATVs
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Tor Missile System: In Pursuit of the Uncatchables. Russia’s mobile anti-missile vehicles can knock out any barrage
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The Swifts & The Russian Knights, Half a Century Combined. Behind incredible air stunts by MiG-29s & Su-27s
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Pantsir: Shielding Russia. Anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-air missiles & radar in a single system
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Ka-52 Alligator: Strike Helicopter. The Tank Destroyer
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K-433 Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets: Nuclear Triad Workhorse . Inside a nuclear submarine, 37 years in service
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MiG-31: The Near-Space Plane. Russia’s super-fast interceptor
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Vikhr: Reborn as Robot. Russian Unmanned Ground Vehicle equipped with drones and a precision battle module
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Prokhod: Armour-plated Minesweeping Robot. Remote bomb-neutralizing & movement in automatic mode
The Swifts & The Russian Knights, Half a Century Combined. Behind incredible air stunts by MiG-29s & Su-27s
Meet two legendary Russian aerobatic teams: The Swifts (or Strizhi) and The Russian Knights, famous for their hair-raising manoeuvres for air show crowds all around the world. They show you what it takes to perform all crazy high-speed dead loops, twists and rolls in combat-ready jet fighters.
The highlight of their displays is called the Kubinka Diamond, a joint formation exercise with both teams flying in perfect synchronicity. Five Knights and four Swifts come together in a tight diamond with their wingtip almost touching at speeds of up to 800 km/h. The performance is honed to perfection, with the pilots all too keenly aware that there's no room for error at such high speed and close aerial proximity.
We go behind the scenes for the aces’ training routine at Kubinka airfield in the Moscow region, where both teams are stationed. This is a rare chance to see the Swifts and the Russian Knights from the ground and with a pilots’ eye thanks to cameras installed in the cockpits.
Tune in to Combat Approved to learn what it means to ‘walk the flight’ and discover the difference between Russia's aerobatic teams and their foreign counterparts.