Strategic Rocket Forces

History

The first Soviet rocket study unit was established in June 1946, by redesignating the 92nd Guards Mortar Regiment at Bad Berka in East Germany as the 22nd Brigade for Special Use of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. On October 18, 1947, the brigade conducted the first launch of the remanufactured former German A-4 ballistic missile, or R-1, from the Kapustin Yar Range. In the early 1950s the 77th and 90th Brigades were formed to operate the R-1 (SS-1a 'Scunner'). The 54th and 56th Brigades were formed to conduct test launches of the R-2 (SS-2 'Sibling') at Kapustin Yar on June 1, 1952.

The 5th Scientific Research Proving Ground was established in 1955 in Kzyl-Orda Oblast at the town of Zarya later Leninsk, and finally in 1995 Baikonur. Also established that year was the 43rd Independent Scientific Experimental Station (Klyuchi, Kamchatka Krai) as an outstation of the Baikonur test site. Two years later "Object Angara" was formed at Plesetsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, which after another name change in 1959 eventually became the 53rd Scientific Research Proving Ground in 1963.

From 1959 the Soviets introduced a number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) into service, including the R-12 (SS-4 'Sandal'), the R-7 (SS-6 'Sapwood'), the R-16 (SS-7 'Saddler'), the R-9 (SS-8 'Sasin'), the R-26 (given the NATO reporting name SS-8 'Sasin' due to incorrect identification as the R-9), the R-36 (SS-9 'Scarp'), and the RT-21 (SS-16 'Sinner'), which was possibly never made fully operational.

By 1990 all early types of missiles had been retired from service. In 1990, the Strategic Missile Forces were officially established as a service branch of the Armed Forces under the direct control of the Defense Ministry. The date of its formal foundation, December 17, is celebrated as Strategic Missile Forces Day.

Two rocket armies were formed in 1960. The 43rd Rocket Army and the 50th Rocket Army were formed from the previous 43rd and 50th Air Armies of the Long Range Aviation.

During a test of the R-16 ICBM on October 24, 1960, the test missile exploded on the pad, killing the first commander of the SRF, Chief Marshal of Artillery Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin. This disaster, the details of which were concealed for decades, became known as the Nedelin catastrophe. He was succeeded by Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Moskalenko who was in turn quickly succeeded by Marshal Sergey Biryuzov.

Marshal Nikolai Krylov took over in March 1963 and served until February 1972. During this time French President Charles de Gaulle visited the Strategic Missile Forces in 1966. Together with NI Krylov, he visited a missile division in Novosibirsk, and then at the invitation of Leonid Brezhnev participated in a demonstration missile launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh SSR. Chief Marshal of Artillery Vladimir Fedorovich Tolubko commanded the SRF from April 12, 1972, to July 10, 1985. Tolubko emphasised raising the physical fitness standards within the SRF and in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Strategic Rocket Forces began to field the new UR-100 (SS-11 'Sego') and UR-100N (SS-19 'Stilleto') ICBMs beginning with the 43rd Rocket Army in the Ukrainian SSR, providing them with longer range and more accurate missiles. He was succeeded by General of the Army Yury Pavlovich Maksimov, who was in command from July 10, 1985, to August 19, 1992.

According to a 1980 TIME Magazine article citing analysts from RAND Corporation, Soviet non-Slavs were generally barred from joining the Strategic Rocket Forces because of suspicions about the loyalty of ethnic minorities to the state. Those who served in the Strategic Rocket Forces had better quality of living, food and also higher salaries than the ones paid to those serving in the Soviet Army. The majority of new recruits has, since its inception, consisted of mainly college and university graduates.

In 1989 the Strategic Rocket Forces had over 1,400 ICBMs, 300 launch control centers, and twenty-eight missile bases. The RSVN operated RSD-10 (SS-20 'Saber') intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) and R-12 (SS-4 'Sandal') medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs). Two-thirds of the road-mobile Soviet RSD-10 force was based in the western Soviet Union and was aimed at Western Europe.

One-third of the force was located east of the Ural Mountains and was targeted primarily against China. Older R-12 missiles were deployed at fixed sites in the western Soviet Union. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in December 1987, called for the elimination of all 553 Soviet RSD-10 and R-12 missiles within three years. As of mid-1989, over 50% of RSD-10 and R-12 missiles had been eliminated.

By 1990 the Soviet Union had seven types of operational ICBMs. About 50% were heavy R-36M (SS-18 'Satan') and UR-100N (SS-19 'Stiletto') ICBMs, which carried 80% of the country's land-based ICBM warheads. By this time it was producing new mobile, and hence survivable ICBMs, the RT-23 (SS-24 'Scalpel') and RT-2PM (SS-25 'Sickle').

In 1990, with the R-12 apparently fully retired, the IISS reported that there were 350 UR-100s (SS-11 'Sego,' Mod 2/3), 60 RT-2s (SS-13 'Savage') still in service in one missile field, 75 UR-100MRs (SS-17 'Spanker,' Mod 3, with 4 MIRV), 308 R-36Ms (mostly Mod 4 with 10 MIRV), 320 UR-100Ns (mostly Mod 3 with 6 MIRV), some 60 RT-23s (silo and rail-mobile), and some 225 RT-2PMs (mobile).

Commanders of the Strategic Rocket Forces

Composition of the Strategic Missile Forces 1960–1991{{cite book

RSVN training establishments included:

• the Peter the Great Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces in Moscow;
• the Military Engineering Red Banner Institute named after A.F. Mozhayskiy (VIKI) in Leningrad;
• the Kharkov Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces named after Marshal of the Soviet Union N.I. Krylov
• the Krasnodar Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces (KVVKIU) (1982–1998)
• the Perm Higher Military Command Engineering Red Banner School Missile Forces (:ru:Пермский военный институт ракетных войск)
• the Riga Higher Military Political Red Banner School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.S. Biryuzov (under the SRF from 1959 to 1993)
• the Rostov Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces (RVVKIU) (1959 onwards)
• the Saratov Higher Military Command and Engineering School of Missile Forces (1959–2003 & 2024 onwards)
• the Serpukhov Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces named after the Leninskiy Komsomol (SVVKU)

Post Soviet Union

Like most of the Russian Armed Forces, the Strategic Missile Forces had limited access to resources for new equipment in the Yeltsin era. However, the Russian government made a priority of ensuring that the Missile Forces received new missiles to phase out older, less-reliable systems, and to incorporate newer capabilities in the face of international threats to the viability of the nuclear deterrent effect provided by their missiles. In particular the development of missile defense systems in the United States.

In 1995, the "Strategic Missile Forces Day" and "Military Space Forces Day" were created. On July 16, 1997, President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree incorporating the Russian Space Forces and the Space Missile Defence Forces (Russian: Ракетно-космической обороны) into the SMT. In doing so, 'nearly 60' military units and establishments were dissolved. However, four years later, on June 1, 2001, the Russian Space Forces were reformed as a separate branch of service from the SMT.

Minister of Defence Marshal of the Russian Federation Igor Sergeev, a former commander of the SMT from August 19, 1992 – May 22, 1997, played a major role in assuring funding for his former service. He was succeeded by General of the Army Vladimir Yakovlev, who commanded the SMT from June 1997 until April 27, 2001. Yakovlev was succeeded by Colonel General Nikolay Solovtsov.

In the early 2000s, Chief of the General Staff Army General Anatoly Kvashnin decided to downgrade the status of the Strategic Missile Forces from a branch of the armed forces to an independent combat arm. This was completed despite the opposition of Defense Minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev.

Solovtsov was dismissed in July–August 2009. Speculation over why Solovtsov was dismissed included opposition to further cuts in deployed nuclear ballistic missile warheads below the April 2009 figure of 1,500, the fact that he had reached the retirement age of 60, despite that he had recently been extended another year's service, or the failure of the Navy's Bulava missile).

After only a year, Lieutenant General Andrey Shvaichenko, appointed on August 3, 2009, by President Dmitry Medvedev, was replaced. The current commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, Colonel General Sergey Karakayev, was appointed to the post by a presidential decree of June 22, 2010.

The RVSN headquarters has a special sledgehammer that can be used to gain access to the launch codes if the commander feels the need to use it or if ordered directly, but does not have normal access to the safe. In 2020, the Strategic Missile Forces completed switching to digital information transmission technology.

Composition since 2010s

The main RVSN command post is at Kuntsevo in the suburbs of Moscow. The alternate command post is at Kosvinsky Mountain in the Urals.

Female cadets have started to join the Peter the Great Strategic Rocket Forces Academy. In the past, only men were allowed to serve in the Missile Forces. RVSN institutes also exist at Serpukhov and Rostov-on-Don. An ICBM test impact range is located in the Far East, the Kura Test Range. This has been under Aerospace Defence Forces' command since 2010.

The Strategic Missile Forces operate four distinct missile systems. The oldest system is the silo-based R-36M2 / SS-18 Satan. It carries ten warheads. The last missile will be in service until 2020.

The second system is the silo-based UR-100NUTTH / SS-19 Stiletto. The last Stiletto missiles in service with six warheads each will be removed by 2019. Two UR-100NUTTH missiles are still believed to be active with Avangard HGVs as of 2024.

A new missile entering service is the RT-2UTTH Topol-M / SS-27 Sickle B with single warhead, of which 60 are silo-based and 18 are mobile. Some new missiles will be added in the future. The first upgraded Topol-M called RS-24 Yars, carrying three warheads, was commissioned in 2010. In July 2011 the first mobile regiment with nine missiles was completed. From 2012 to 2017, about 80 ICBMs were placed in active duty. The RF Defense Minister said in December 2022 that 91.3% of the country's nuclear forces was modern. 3 missile regiments rearmed in 2023. According to the RF MoD, the new super-heavy ICBM RS-28 Sarmat has entered service, it's designed to replace the aging R-36. A new IRBM named Oreshnik was launched at Dnipro, Ukraine in 2024. The Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff said in December 2025 that 92% of the country's Strategic Missile Forces was equipped with modern weapons.

Units

The composition of missiles and warheads of the Strategic Rocket Forces previously had to be revealed as part of the START I treaty data exchange. The most recently reported (January 2020) order of battle of the forces was as follows:

• 27th Guards Rocket Army (Military Unit No. 43176) (HQ: Vladimir)
  • 98th Mixed Aviation Squadron
  • 7th Guards Rocket Division (Military Unit No. 14245) at Vypolzovo with 18+ mobile RS-24 Yars
  • 14th Rocket Division (Military Unit No. 34096) at Yoshkar-Ola with 27 mobile RS-24 Yars
  • 28th Guards Rocket Division (Military Unit No. 54055) at Kozelsk with 30 (December 2025) silo-based RS-24
  • 54th Guards Rocket Division (Military Unit No. 34048) at Teykovo with 18 mobile RT-2UTTH Topol-M and 18 (December 2011) mobile RS-24
  • 60th Rocket Division (Military Unit No. 89553) at Tatischevo with 30 silo-based UR-100NUTTH and 60 silo-based RT-2UTTH Topol-M (began to be replaced with silo-based RS-24 Yars in 2025)
• 31st Rocket Army (HQ: Orenburg)
  • 102nd Mixed Aviation Squadron
  • 8th Rocket Division at Pervomaysky, Kirov Oblast
  • 13th Red Banner Rocket Division at Dombarovskiy with 18 silo-based R-36M2 and 11 (December 2023) UR-100NUTTH with Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle)s (Project 4202). The R-36s will be replaced with the new RS-28 Sarmat when operational.
  • 42nd Rocket Division at Nizhniy Tagil with 27 mobile RS-24 Yars
• 33rd Guards Rocket Army (HQ: Omsk)
  • 105th Mixed Aviation Squadron
  • 29th Guards Rocket Division at Irkutsk with 27 mobile RS-24 Yars
  • 35th Rocket Division at Barnaul with mobile RT-2PM Topol and RS-24 Yars
  • 39th Guards Rocket Division at Novosibirsk with 27 mobile RS-24 Yars
  • 62nd Rocket Division at Uzhur with 28 silo-based R-36M2, which will also be replaced with the new RS-28 Sarmat when operational.

The 21st Arsenal (stationed in the village of Chrysolitovy), the 27th Arsenal (the village of Surovatikha, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast), and 29th Arsenals are affiliated with the Strategic Rocket Forces. The 25th Arsenal in Stolbtsy, Minsk Oblast, now in Belarus, was also affiliated with the RSVN. The arsenal at Surovatikha was formed on 23 November 1955. Commanders have included:

• E. N. Volkodav (1956–1960)
• Colonel K. K. Morshnev (1961–1968)
• Major General S. I. Ryzleytsev (1968–1978)
• Major General M. A. Kovalev (1978–1989)
• Colonel V. A. Moiseenko (1989–1996)
• Colonel V. N. Kubusha (1996–1999)
• Colonel G. I. Zhagorin (1999–2005)
• Colonel G. F. Razulov (2005–c. 2020)

Numbers of missiles and warheads

The Strategic Missile Forces have:

• 34 silo-based R-36M2 (SS-18) with up to 10 warheads, to be retired.
• 45 mobile RT-2PM "Topol" (SS-25) with 1 warhead, now retired
• 60 silo-based RT-2UTTH "Topol M" (SS-27) with 1 warhead
• 18 mobile RT-2UTTH "Topol M" (SS-27) with 1 warhead
• 30 silo-based RS-24 "Yars" (SS-29) with up to 4 warheads
• 180 mobile RS-24 "Yars" (SS-29) with up to 4 warheads

Kristensen and Korda (2020) list the UR-100N (SS-19), as retired from deployment, while noting that UR-100NUTTH being deployed with the Avangard.

Weapons and equipment

Intermediate-range ballistic missiles

• 9M729 Oreshnik – In service from 2024 to present.
• RS-26 Rubezh

Intercontinental-range ballistic missiles

• RS-28 Sarmat, SS-X-29 Satan II – In service from 2023 to present.
• R-36M2 Voevoda, SS-18 Satan – In service from 1988 to present.
• RS-24 Yars, SS-29 – In service from 2010 to present.
• RT-2PM2 Topol-M, SS-27 Sickle-B – In service from 2000 to present.
• UR-100N - In service from 1975.

Ranks and rank insignia

;Officer ranks

;Other ranks

Future

According to the Federation of American Scientists, for the foreseeable future, all new Russian ICBM deployments will be based on the MIRVed version of the solid-fueled Topol-M "RS-24 Yars" and the liquid-fueled RS-28 Sarmat. By the late 2020s, according to announcements by Russian military officials, all R-36M2 missiles will be retired in favor of the new RS-28 super-heavy ICBM.

Notes

References

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