Strategic Rocket Forces

This article is about the branch of the Russian Armed Forces. For other uses, see Strategic Rocket Forces (disambiguation).

The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; Russian: Ракетные войска стратегического назначения Российской Федерации (РВСН РФ), romanized: Raketnye voyska strategicheskogo naznacheniya Rossiyskoy Federatsii, lit. 'Strategic Purpose Rocketry Troops') is a separate-troops branch of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

Strategic Rocket Forces
Ракетные войска стратегического назначения Raketnye voyska strategicheskogo naznacheniya
Emblem of the Strategic Rocket Forces
Founded	17 December 1959; 63 years ago (1959-12-17)
Country	Russia (1992–present)  Commonwealth of Independent States (1991–1992)  Soviet Union (1959–1991)
Branch	Russian Armed Forces
Type	Strategic missile force
Role	Strategic missile deterrence
Size	50,000 personnel (2020)^[1]
Headquarters	Vlasikha, 2.5 km northwest of Odintsovo, Moscow Oblast
Patron	Saint Barbara the Great Martyr^[2]
Motto(s)	"После нас - тишина" ("After us - silence")
March	Artillery March (Марш Артиллеристов) by Tikhon Khrennikov
Anniversaries	17 December
Equipment	Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles
Engagements	Cuban Missile Crisis
Website	Official website
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel General Sergei Karakayev [ru]
Notable commanders	Marshal Igor Sergeyev
Insignia
Flag
Patch
Middle Emblem
Insignia

Sergei Karakayev (2015)

The Strategic Rocket Forces was created on 17 December 1959 as part of the Soviet Armed Forces as the main force intended for attacking an enemy's offensive nuclear weapons, military facilities, and industrial infrastructure.^[3] They operated all Soviet nuclear ground-based intercontinental, intermediate-range ballistic missile, and medium-range ballistic missile with ranges over 1,000 kilometers. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, assets of the Strategic Rocket Forces were in the territories of several new states in addition to Russia, with armed nuclear missile silos in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The three of them transferred their missiles to Russia for destruction and they all joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Complementary strategic forces within Russia include the Russian Aerospace Forces' Long Range Aviation and the Russian Navy's ballistic missile submarines. Together the three bodies form Russia's nuclear triad.

History

Further information: Russia and weapons of mass destruction

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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.

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 these 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.^[6] Under Marshal Вiryuzov the SRF deployed missiles to Cuba in 1962 as part of Operation Anadyr. 36 R-12 intermediate range ballistic missiles were sent to Cuba, initiating the Cuban Missile Crisis. The 43rd Guards Missile Division of 43rd Rocket Army manned the missiles while in Cuba.^[7]

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. 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 Missile Forces because of suspicions about the loyalty of ethnic minorities to the Kremlin.^[8]

In 1989 the Strategic Missile Forces had over 1,400 ICBMs, 300 launch control centers, and twenty-eight missile bases.^[9] The SMT 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').^[10]

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).^[10]

Composition of the Strategic Missile Forces 1960–1991^[11]

Formation	Headquarters Location	Year formed as Corps	Year formed as Army	Year disbanded^[6]	Divisions
27th Guards Rocket Army	HQ Vladimir, Moscow Military District	Sept. 1, 1959	1970	Still active	7th Guards Rocket Division, 28th Guards Rocket Division, (32 ^[12]), 54th Guards Rocket Division, 60th Rocket Division
31st Rocket Army	Orenburg, Urals Military District	Sept. 5, 1965	1970	Still active	8th, 13th, 14th, (41st Guards), 42nd, 50, 52nd, (55), 59
33rd Guards Rocket Army	Omsk, Siberian Military District	1962	1970	Still active	23, (34), 35th, 36th Guards, 38, 39th Guards, 57, 62
43rd Rocket Army^[13]	Vinnitsa, Kiev Military District	—	1960	May 8, 1996	19 (Khmelnitsky), 37th Guards (Lutsk), 43 (Kremenchug), 44 (Kolomyia, Ivano-Frankovsk Oblast, disbanded March 1990; 46 (Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv Oblast)
50th Rocket Army	Smolensk, Belorussian Military District	—	1960	June 30, 1990	1988:^[6] 7th Guards, 24th Guards (Gvardeysk, Kaliningrad Oblast),^[14] 31st Guards (former 83rd Guards Bryansko-Berlinskaya Aviation (Missile) Division, renumbered July 1, 1960), 32nd (Postavy, Vitebsk Oblast), 40th, 49th Guards (Lida, Grodno Region, 1963 to 1990), 58th (Karmelava, Lithuania)
53rd Rocket Army^[15]	Chita, Transbaikal Military District	1962	June 8, 1970	Sept. 16, 2002	1988:^[6] 4th Rocket Division (Drovyanaya, Chita Oblast), 23rd Guards Rocket Division (Kansk, assigned 1983–2002), 27th Rocket Division (Svobodnyy, Amur Oblast), 29th, 36th Guards, 47th Rocket Division (Olovyannaya, Chita Oblast)^[16]

RSVN training establishments included:^[17]

• the Order of Lenin Military Academy named for F.E. Dzerzhinskiy in Moscow;
• the Military Engineering Red Banner Institute imeni A.F. Mozhayskiy (VIKI) in Leningrad;
• the Kharkov Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces imeni 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 imeni Marshal of the Soviet Union S.S. Biryuzov (under the SRF from 1959-1993)
• the Rostov Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces (RVVKIU) (1959 onwards)
• the Saratov Higher Military Command Engineering Red Banner order of the Red Star School Missile Forces imeni Major-General A.I. Lizyukov (SVVKIU) (1959-2003)
• the Serpukhov Higher Military Command Engineering School Missile Forces imeni 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.^[18] 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.^[6] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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).^{[citation needed]}

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 Sergei Karakayev, was appointed to the post by a presidential decree of June 22, 2010.^[19][20]

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 doesn't have normal access to the safe.^{[citation needed]} In 2020, the Strategic Missile Forces completed switching to digital information transmission technology.^[21]

Composition since 2010s

 

A RS-24 Yars missile system of the 39th Guards Missile Division during a command post exercise in 2017.

 

Strategic Rocket Forces infantry during a military exercise.

 

A launch authorization device

The main RVSN command post is at Kuntsevo in the suburbs of Moscow. The alternate command post is at Kosvinsky Mountain in the Urals.^[22]

Female cadets have started to join the Peter the Great Strategic Missile Forces Academy.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[23][24][needs update]}

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. The third system, the single warhead mobile RT-2PM Topol / SS-25 Sickle are planned to be decommissioned by 2019.^{[25][24][needs update]}

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.^[26] From 2012 to 2017, about 80 ICBMs were placed in active duty.^[27][28] The RF Defense Minister said in December 2022 that 91.3% of the country's nuclear forces was modern.^[29][30][31]

Units

The composition of missiles and warheads of the Strategic Missile 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 is as follows:^[32]

• 27th Guards Rocket Army (HQ: Vladimir)
  • 98th Mixed Aviation Squadron
  • 7th Guards Rocket Division at Vypolzovo with 18+ mobile RS-24 Yars^[33][34]
  • 14th Rocket Division at Yoshkar-Ola with 27 mobile RS-24 Yars
  • 28th Guards Rocket Division at Kozelsk with 17 (December 2022)^[35][36][37] silo-based RS-24
  • 54th Guards Rocket Division at Teykovo with 18 mobile RT-2UTTH Topol-M and 18 (December 2011)^[38] mobile RS-24
  • 60th Rocket Division at Tatischevo with 30 silo-based UR-100NUTTH and 60 silo-based RT-2UTTH Topol-M
• 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 8 (December 2022) UR-100NUTTH with Avangard (hypersonic glide vehicle)s (Project 4202).^{[39][40][41][42]} The R-36s will be replaced with the new RS-28 Sarmat when operational.^[43]
  • 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^[44] 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 replaced with the new RS-28 Sarmat when operational.^[43]

Numbers of missiles and warheads

The Strategic Missile Forces have:^[32]

• 46 silo-based R-36M2 (SS-18) with up to 10 warheads, to be retired 2022
• 45 mobile RT-2PM "Topol" (SS-25) with 1 warhead, flagged for future retirement
• 60 silo-based RT-2UTTH "Topol M" (SS-27) with 1 warhead
• 18 mobile RT-2UTTH "Topol M" (SS-27) with 1 warhead
• 17 silo-based RS-24 "Yars" (SS-29) with up to 4 warheads
• 135+ 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.^[45]

Obsolete weapons and equipment

 

A U.S. Defense Department map of Soviet ICBM bases, 1980s

Medium-range ballistic missiles

• R-12 Dvina, SS-4 Sandel – In service from 1959 to 1993.

Intermediate-range ballistic missiles

• R-14 Chusovaya, SS-5 Skean – In service from 1962 to 1984.
• RSD-10 Pioneer, SS-20 Sabre, SS-23 Sabre 2 – In service from 1976 to 1988.

Intercontinental-range ballistic missiles

• MR-UR-100 Sotka, SS-17 Spanker – In service from 1975 to 1995.
• R-7 Semyorka, SS-6 Sapwood – In service from 1959 to 1968.
• R-9 Desna, SS-8 Sasin – In service from 1964 to 1976.
• R-16, SS-7 Saddler – In service from 1961 to 1976.
• RT-2, SS-13 Savage – In service from 1968 to 1976.
• RT-20P, SS-15 Scrooge – In service from 1961 to 1962.
• RT-21 Temp 2S, SS-16 Sinner – In service from 1976 to 1986.
• RT-23 Molodets, SS-24 Scalpel – In service from 1987 to 2005.
• UR-100, SS-11 Sego – In service from 1967 to 1974.
• UR-200, SS-10 Scrag – In service from 1963 to 1964.

Ranks and rank insignia

Officer ranks

Rank group	General/flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
Russian Strategic Rocket Forces v t e
	Marshal of the Russian Federation Ма́ршал Росси́йской Федера́ции		Army general генера́л а́рмии		Colonel general генера́л-полко́вник		Lieutenant general генера́л-лейтена́нт		Major general генера́л-майо́р		Colonel полко́вник		Lieutenant colonel подполко́вник		Major майо́р		Captain капита́н		Senior lieutenant ста́рший лейтена́нт		Lieutenant лейтена́нт		Junior lieutenant мла́дший лейтена́нт		Cadet Курсант

Other ranks

Rank group	General/flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
Russian Strategic Rocket Forces v t e
	Senior warrant officer Ста́рший пра́порщик			Warrant officer Пра́порщик			Master sergeant Старшина́		Senior sergeant Ста́рший сержа́нт		Sergeant Сержа́нт						Junior sergeant Мла́дший сержа́нт						Corporal Ефре́йтор				Private Рядово́й

Future

According to the Federation of American Scientists, for the foreseeable future, all new Russian ICBM deployments will be of MIRVed versions of the SS-27 "Topol-M". A “new ICBM” and a “heavy ICBM” are also being developed. By the early 2020s, according to announcements by Russian military officials, all SS-18 and SS-25 ICBMs will be retired from service following the retirements of the SS-19 systems.

This development would leave a Russian ICBM force structure based on five modifications of the solid-fuel SS-27 (silo- and mobile-based SS-27 Mod 1 (Topol-M); silo- and mobile-based SS-27 Mod 2 (RS-24 Yars); and the RS-26 Rubezh) and the liquid-fuel RS-28 Sarmat with a large payload – either MIRV or some advanced payload to evade missile defense systems. Although the future force will be smaller, a greater portion of it will be MIRVed – up from approximately 36 percent in 2014 to roughly 70 percent by 2024.

See also

•  Russia portal

• Dead Hand
• Russian Aerospace Defence Forces
• Awards and emblems of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
• List of states with nuclear weapons

References

1. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IF11603.pdf^{[bare URL PDF]}
2. Main Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces. February 2, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2019-02-02.
3. This foundation date is shared with the Russian Space Forces (VKS).. www.mil.ru. Archived from the original on February 27, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2021. В соответствии с постановлением Совета Министров СССР № 1384-615 от 17.12.1959 г. созданы РВСН как самостоятельный вид ВС. Согласно Указу Президента РФ № 1239 от 10 декабря 1995 года, этот день отмечается как годовой праздник - День РВСН.
4. Michael Holm, 24th Guards Rocket Division September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, accessed December 2013.
5. "RVSN – Strategic Missile Forces – Russian and Soviet Nuclear Forces". fas.org. from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
6. Mike Holm, Strategic Missile Forces December 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
7. National Security Archive, http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB14/doc18.htm August 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
8. [The U.S.S.R.: Moscow's Military Machine The U.S.S.R.: Moscow's Military Machine], TIME Magazine, June 23, 1980
9. Library of Congress Soviet Union Country Study October 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, 1989
10. IISS Military Balance 1990–91, p.34
11. Feskov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Golikov, V.I. (2004). The Soviet Army in the Years of the Cold War 1945–91. Tomsk: Tomsk University Publishing House. p. 132. ISBN 5-7511-1819-7.
12. "32nd Missile Division". Ww2.dk. from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
13. . www.nti.org. Archived from the original on November 11, 2010.
14. Previously 92 BON, then given the combined-arms designation of 22nd RVGK special-purpose brigade, then 72nd RVGK Engineer Brigade, and in 1960 the 24th Guards Division of the RVSN was formed on its basis. http://www.ww2.dk/new/rvsn/24gvmd.htm September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
15. Formed Chita in 1970 from the 8th Independent Missile Corps, under Colonel-General Yury Zabegaylov. Included 45th Rocket Division (disbanded 1970).
16. http://www.ww2.dk/new/rvsn/47md.htm September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine 47th Missile Division
17. Michael Holm, RSVN Schools
18. Greg Austin and Alexiy D. Muraviev, The Armed Forces of Russia in Asia, Tauris, 2001, p.185-6
19. Pavel Podvig, Russian Strategic Missile Forces May 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, accessed September 2010
20. [Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 09.08.2012 number 1141 "About the assignment of ranks of senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"] (in Russian). Kremlin.ru. August 9, 2012. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
21. "ЦАМТО / / В 2020 году РВСН полностью перешли на цифровые технологии передачи информации".
22. Jane's Defence Weekly June 25, 1994, 32, via Austin and Muraviev, The Armed Forces of Russia in Asia, 2001.
23. Topol might stay in service until 2019 (October 28, 2011). "Topol might stay in service until 2019 - Blog - Russian strategic nuclear forces". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russianforces.org. from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
24. Launch of Topol to confirm missile life extension (November 3, 2011). "Launch of Topol to confirm missile life extension - Blog - Russian strategic nuclear forces". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russianforces.org. from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
25. Topol might stay in service until 2019 (October 28, 2011). "Topol might stay in service until 2019 - Blog - Russian strategic nuclear forces". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russianforces.org. from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
26. Deployment of the first full regiment of RS-24 is completed (July 7, 2011). "Deployment of the first full regiment of RS-24 is completed - Blog - Russian strategic nuclear forces". Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Russianforces.org. from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
27. Path, Neal (June 5, 2020). "Russia sets up ballistic missile early warning satellite grouping to monitor the US". International Insider. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
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40. "Подробнее : Министерство обороны Российской Федерации".
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44. "Минобороны раскрыло характеристики ракетного комплекса "Ярс-С"". January 29, 2021.
45. Hans M. Kristensen & Matt Korda (2020) Russian nuclear forces, 2020, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 76:2, 102-117, DOI: 10.1080/00963402.2020.1728985

Further reading

• Дороговоз И. Г. Ракетные войска СССР. — Минск: Харвест, 2007. — 336 с. — ISBN 978-985-13-9751-4
• John G. Hines et al. Soviet Intentions 1965–1985. Braddock Dunn & McDonald (BDM), 1995.
• Strategic Missile Forces museum March 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
• Main, Dr Steven J. (August 2002). The Strategic Rocket Forces 1991-2002 (PDF). Conflict Studies Research Centre.
• "Владимирская Ракетная Стратегическая" (Vladimirskaya Strategic Missile) by I.V. Vershkov and V.G. Gagarin; Vladimir 2006; 480 pages;
• "Оренбургская Стратегическая" (Orenburg Strategic) by Y.N. Feoktistov; Perm 2001; 328 pages; (also a 1997 edition).
• "Читинская Ракетная Армия" (Chitinskaya Missile Army) by ??; Chita, 2002; 268 pages
• "История 50-й Ракетной Армии I-IV" (History 50th Missile Army, part 1–4) by G.I. Smirnov and A.I. Yasakov; Smolensk 2008; 370+342+387+561 pages
• "Стратеги" (Strategic) by V.T. Nosov; Moscow, 2008; 276 pages;

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation.

• Official Page
• CSIS Missile Threat - Russia
• Strategic Missile Forces museum Official Website August 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
• Russian Nuclear Notebook 2019 - forces and Rocket Divisions