Helsinki Air Defence Regiment

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Helsinki Air Defence Regiment (Helsingin Ilmatorjuntarykmentti, HelItR) is a part of the Armoured Brigade in Parola. The regiment was before an independent Finnish Army unit located in Hyrylä (in Tuusula municipality, some 30 km from Helsinki). The regiment trained 800 conscripts per year.

In 2005 the Minister of Defence Seppo Kääriäinen announced that the garrison in Hyrylä would be closed as part of a major structural change of the Finnish Defence Forces. This took place on January 1, 2007. The operations of the regiment moved to Armoured Brigade at Parola. Closing of the garrison will save the Defence Forces about 5 million euro per year.

[edit] Organisation

The last organization of the Regiment was

• Armoured Anti-Aircraft Battery (Panssari-ilmatorjuntapatteri)
• 1st & 2nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Batteries (1. & 2. Ohjusilmatorjuntapatteri)
• Command Post Battery (Johtokeskuspatteri)
• NCO School (Aliupseerikoulu)

[edit] Equipment

• ItO 96 (Buk-M1)
• 35 ItK 88 (35 mm Oerlikon gun)
• 23 Itk 61 (ZU-23-2)
• 23 Itk 95 (modernised version of ZU-23-2)
• 12.7 Itkk (NSV-12.7)
• ItO 86 (M Igla)