Cloudy with a chance of APCs: WATCH 2 Russian armored vehicles crash from sky during massive drills (VIDEO)

More than 2,000 troops and 200 hardware pieces were airdropped behind the simulated enemy lines from nearly six dozen Il-76 military transport planes during a spectacular Airborne Forces exercise last week. Several parachutes, however, failed to deploy, resulting in two infantry fighting vehicles plummeting to the ground at terminal velocity.

Luckily there were no crew inside and no one was hurt on the ground, but two vehicles were damaged beyond repair, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed. The moment of the fall and photos of what once was an armored personnel carrier leaked online.

Such incidents are relatively common around the globe, but a probe was still launched into why exactly the parachuting systems failed. A certain level of hardware loss is considered ‘acceptable’ during air insertion of military hardware, especially on such a grand scale, as the airdropped vehicles are not only supposed to land safely but also enter into action immediately afterwards.

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An incident during US Army training in Germany went viral in 2016 after three Humvees detached from their parachutes and slammed into a field to the cheers and hysteric laughter of the operator. An American soldier was later found guilty of sabotage and destruction of military property after an investigation determined he had cut the parachute straps.

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