Hello SmackFu,
The following has a short article about the evolution of Russian military tactics http://www.rickard.karoo.net/weaponslong.html and indicates that “desant” is Russian for “assault.” The Russian paratroops also have a site at http://www.desant.ru/about/about-eng.html
My guess that it was used in the article as a synonym for airborne assault because the Russians already have done this before in Afghanistan, or more likely the writer thought that the name of the specific type of troops used, ‘Desant,’ was generic military jargon for any airborne drop.
45ACP