Russian Stategic Rocket Forces (40 pics)

[Kshasty]

Unofficial motto of the Russian Stategic Rocket Forces - "There is nobody to stand by us on the military line"



On September 8, 2011 a group of bloggers and journalists visited the 28th Guards Red Banner Rocket Division in the town of Kozelsk as part of a press trip at the invitation of the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Red Banner Rocket Division was raised in the town of Kozelsk from the 198th Engineer Rocket Brigade on May 3, 1961. The 198th Rocket Brigade in its turn was raised from the 28th Guards Cannon Artillery Red Banner Brigade which was formed using two artillery units as a nucleus in October 1943. Ballistic missile UR-100N UTTKh (SS-19 Stiletto) is in operational service with the Division. For more than 47 years soldiers of the Division have been working hard to protect our country. The Guards Red Banner Rocket Division with its three regiments is currently performing the duties of maintaining high levels of combat alert and combat readiness.

2. Our trip kicked off with a visit to a military camp in Kozelsk.



3. Barracks.



4. It’s all the same everywhere.



5. Gymnasium.



6. Video Library.



7.



8.



9. Soldiers preparing for a shift change.



10. Canteen.



11. Zampolit (deputy commander in charge of policy) invited us to have a lunch at a soldier's canteen.



12. And here is my lunch.



13. The outsourcing of kitchen work to civilians allowed the division to abandon kitchen shifts.



14. After lunch we moved on.



15. The command post.
Operational launch complex UR-100N UTTKh (SS-19 Stiletto) comprises 10 missiles in silo-launchers as well as the command post and the repair base.



16. …As for the button… I won’t show you ))



17. Alert!



18. The soldier of SRF.



19. Attack over.



20. Riding in KAMAZ-43269 armored vehicle was part of the program.



21. – The steering wheel is from SUBARU, the driver boasted.



22. It was rather comfortable in an armored car on the concrete road.



23. The territory of silo-launcher, even without a rocket, is seriously guarded.
Security automated system comprises:
- M-200 module (sensitive underground seismic sensors);
- Radio beam system to identify ‘Pion-T’;
- RADIAN ‘approach and touch’ system (a distance of 2 m);
- Electrifying fence system - the so-called P-100 grid is dangerous for violators (jolt of electricity of 800, 1100, 3000 volts depending on the situation). It is controlled either from the guardhouse or from the remote duty shift.



24. P-100 electrifying fence system.



25. Fire position.
People must be very careful while walking in the woods near military facilities and shouldn’t try to enter the protected area in order to avoid tragic consequences. Outposts may be open as well as hidden. According to regulatory documents the guards have the right to open fire if an unauthorized person appears within the protected military territory.
Be careful!



25. Silo-launcher is a vertical well with support frames, machinery and launch equipment inside. The silo is covered with a protective device - high-strength roof panel fitted with a mechanism for quick opening before launch. The protective device can be swiveled like a door or moved horizontal.
Weight of the protective device is 150 tons.



26. Bloggers and journalists had a chance to go down the missile silos.



27. There was a RS-18A rocket standing here previously - SS-19 (Stiletto) according to NATO classification - Soviet intercontinental silo-based ballistic missile.



28. Bloggers and journalists descended to the bottom of 30-meter deep silo in pairs.



29. There is a bell jar at the bottom to distribute emissions during a ‘hot’ gas-dynamic start.



30.



31. KAMAZ-43269



32. Our next stop is technical repair base.



33. Nobody wanted to go to the barracks of the repair base – they are all the same in SRF.



34. The division church is housed closer to the God – on the third floor of the barracks.



35.



36. At the technical repair base they showed us special missile transport vehicles.



37. All vehicles are in perfect operating conditions.



38. Missile officers answered the blogger’s questions.



39. I would like to say thank you to the Russian Defense Ministry press club for most interesting excursions.