Strategic Missile Forces Day In Russia

On December 17, the Russian Armed Forces celebrate the Strategic Missile Forces Day, which was established by the presidential decree from December 10, 1995.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th December, 2018) On December 17, the Russian Armed Forces celebrate the Strategic Missile Forces Day, which was established by the presidential decree from December 10, 1995.

The holiday has been confirmed by the presidential decree from May 31, 2006, on the establishment of professional holidays and memorable days in the Russian Armed Forces.

On December 17, 1959, the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union issued a resolution, which confirmed the earlier decision to create a new type of the Armed Forces. That is why the holiday is celebrated on December 17.

Up until 1995, the Strategic Missile Forces celebrated their professional holiday together with the artillery on November 19, which marks the Missile Forces and Artillery Day.

The origin of the Strategic Missile Forces is associated with the development of domestic and foreign missiles, and then with nuclear weapons, as well as with the improvement of its military use. The material basis for the formation of the Strategic Missile Forces has used to be the creation of new sectors in the defense industry - rocket and space industry and the nuclear weapons industry.

On May 13, 1946, the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union adopted "The issues of rocket armament" resolution on the creation of a missile industry and the development of the rocket weapons in the army. The work on the development of rocket technologies was defined as the most important state task, while its implementation was determined as a top priority by all ministries and organizations.

The first missile units, created in accordance with the decree, had used to be the special operations brigades of the Supreme Command Reserve. The first brigade of such type was formed in August 1946, on the basis of 92nd Guards Gomel Mortar Regiment.

In 1946-1959, nuclear weapons and missiles were developed, the first models of guided ballistic missiles were created, missile formations, which were capable of performing operational tasks in front-line operations and strategic tasks in the surrounding theaters of operations, were created as well. In 1959, the Armed Forces had one force of intercontinental ballistic missiles, seven engineering brigades and more than 40 engineer regiments of medium-range missiles. Moreover, about half of the engineering regiments were part of the long-range aviation of the Air Force.

The need for centralized management of troops, equipped with strategic missiles, led to the institutionalization of a new type of the armed forces.

On December 17, 1959, the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued a decree on the establishment of two posts within the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union: commander-in-chief of missile units and commander- in-chief of missile forces. The post of the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces, the deputy defense minister of the Soviet Union, was established in accordance with these decisions.

Hero of the Soviet Union, Chief Marshal of the Artillery in the Soviet Armed Forces Mitrofan Nedelin was appointed as the first commander-in-chief of the Soviet Union's Strategic Rocket Forces.

The creation of a new independent type of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Strategic Rocket Forces, was of great political importance, as before that there was no single management structure of strategic nuclear weapons and missiles in the hands of the commander-in-chief.

In 1959-1965, missile forces and parts of intercontinental ballistic missiles and medium-range missiles, capable of solving strategic tasks in military geographical areas and in any theaters of military operations, were deployed.

The continuous increase in the quantity and quality characteristics of the missile systems that were in service contributed to the establishment of nuclear parity between the Soviet Union and the United States by the early 1970s. However, the growth of opportunities for the both parties did not stop as more advanced missiles appeared in service; multiple warheads replaced single-warheads and these warheads became targetable.

By the mid-1980s, the production of Topol intercontinental ballistic missile began. Its creation was a new step in ensuring the secrecy and invulnerability of the strategic forces. Throughout the entire period of the Soviet Union's existence, the Strategic Rocket Forces formed the basis of strategic forces, accounting for most of over 10,000 warheads, which the Soviet Union had by 1991.

The achieved balance of nuclear forces and changes in the military-political situation in the late 1980s and early 1990s allowed to rethink and re-evaluate the futility of the arms race, as well as allowed the Soviet Union and then Russia to conclude a series of treaties with the United States on mutual reduction of strategic nuclear weapons.

A new stage in the development of the Strategic Rocket Forces began in 1992: the Strategic Rocket Forces became part of the Russian Armed Forces, while the fifth-generation Topol-M missile system was created and became operational. At the same time, missile systems of the Strategic Rocket Forces were closed down outside Russia.

In 1997, the Strategic Rocket Forces merged with the Military Space Forces and with the Space Missile Defense Forces. The new strategic command, the Strategic Missile Troops, was formed. From 1997 to 2001, in addition to the rocket armies and divisions, the Strategic Missile Troops included military units and institutions for launching and controlling space vehicles, as well as rocket and space defense.

In June 2001, the Strategic Missile Troops were transformed from one type into two types of forces - the Strategic Missile Forces and the Space Forces.

Currently, the Strategic Missile Forces is a branch of the Russian Armed Forces, the main component of its Strategic Nuclear Forces. They are intended for nuclear deterrence of a possible aggression.

Col. Gen. Sergei Karakaev has been serving as the commander of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces since 2010. At the current stage of its development, the Russian Strategic Missile Forces include three rocket armies located in Vladimir, Omsk and Orenburg and 12 stand-by missile divisions.

The Russian Strategic Missile Forces have six types of missile systems, which are divided into fixed missile systems and mobile guided missiles. The Strategic Missile Force includes heavy-class (RS-20B Voevoda) and light-class (RS-18, Stiletto, and RS-12M2, Topol) intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as mobile ground-launched missiles RS-12M Topol, RS-12M2 Topol-M unitary-warhead missile and the Yars missile systems with RS-12M2R rocket.

Today the Strategic Missile Forces have about 400 launchers with intercontinental ballistic missiles. The share of the missile systems in the Strategic Missile Forces will increase steadily.

By 2020, the Strategic Missile Force will start to receive the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which were designed to replace Voevoda missiles, as well as the new Avangard hypersonic missile systems, which are capable of traveling intercontinental distances in dense layers of the atmosphere at speeds faster than Mach 20.

During its history, the Strategic Missile Forces has never been used as a military force for its intended purpose, but together with other components of the strategic nuclear forces, was participating in solving many military and political problems.

More than two-thirds of the Russian strategic nuclear forces' nuclear carriers, which are capable to destroy targets on the enemy's territory in a few minutes, are part of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces. Every day, about 6,000 people as part of alert forces are serving in combat positions.

Over 5,000 missile launches, including about 500 launches during operational tests and combat training, have been carried out since the formation of the Strategic Missile Forces.