| Unit Name: | Parachute commando regiments |
| Country: | Algeria |
| Allegiance: | Algerian land forces |
| Type: | Airborne infantry |
| Role: | Special Forces SupportParachute InsertionQuick reaction force |
| Battles: | Algerian civil war,Tiguentourine crisis |
The Parachute Commandos Regiments (RPC) are Algerian parachute regiments.
The regiments are part of the 17th Parachute Division of Biskra of the land forces of the Algerian People's National Army.
The regiments are "special troops" regiments by virtue of their missions and status.
The parachutists of the Algerian Army were not in the form of regiments but of groups. The first parachutist regiments were formed in the 1980s. The first regiments were the 4th, 12th and 18th RPC. The 1st RPC and the 5th RPC were created in 1995.[1]
The regiments were integrated into the Centre de Conduite et de Coordination des Actions de Lutte Anti-Subversive (CLAS) in 1995. The 6th RPC is the last regiment to been created as it was created in 2009.[2]
The parachute commandos belong to the 17th Parachute Division, which is a predominantly infantry division but with more sensitive missions than the infantry regiments.
The 17th Parachute Division, created in 1991 by decree, is specialized in airborne combat and air assault, its main mission being emergency projection.
The commando parachute regiments are composed of 6 parachute regiments and 3 auxiliary units:
The regiments have a strength of about 700 men, between 9000 and 10000 paratroopers for the 17th DP.
Airborne intervention is the main mode of action of parachutists, they are capable of engaging under armored protection with BTR-80s or Fuchs 2s and tactical reconnaissance vehicles in a short time, and with weapons and equipment that can be dropped or heliborne into a combat zone.
Each regiment has :
The 12th RPC is a specialized regiment, with two special operations companies (41st and 45th companies) and specialized sections similar to the French Army's Commando Parachute Group (GCP) or the U.S. 75th Ranger Regiment.
The regiments are the elite parachute regiment for conventional forces (excluding special forces).
Parachute commandos act primarily in the air-land environment, the parachutists provide the material and human resources to carry out the missions, and the commandos work directly with the other units.
Parachute commandos have the following missions :
The RPC is very much present in border security missions, particularly on the Libyan border.
The RPC have the status of "special troops" that are the equivalent of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Parachute cadets are trained at the Special Troops Training Centre (CFTS) (for non-commissioned men) which is part of the Special Troops Superior School (ESTS) (which trains non-commissioned officers and officers) in Biskra, where they are trained in:
At the end of the course, the student is subject to a diploma examination.
Some will go for advanced training at the commandos training centre (EFCIP) in Boghar.
Para-commando units are organized on the model of the Russian Spetsnaz, and many officers and non-commissioned officers have undergone additional and specialized training in South Korea, China, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States,[3] Italy, Germany, Russia, and France.
The level of training there is advanced in all areas of individual and collective combat (close combat, shooting, sabotage, camouflage, reconnaissance, parachuting, interrogation of prisoners, etc.).https://cf2r.org/documentation/forces-speciales-et-groupes-dintervention-antiterroristes-algeriens/