Day of the Strategic Missile Forces of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Russia (Day of the Strategic Missile Forces)

This holiday has become official since 2006 The history of the Strategic Missile Forces is closely connected with a specific date, December 17, this branch of the military became part of the Soviet Army on this day in 1959 The very first formations were formed on the basis of units with combat experience of the Great Patriotic War Many units inherited a battle flag, awards and an honorary name About forty divisions began to be called guards In the early years, the personnel numbered approximately fourteen thousand people Currently, the Strategic Missile Forces are a separate branch of the military, which represents the ground part of Russia's nuclear forces It consists of three armies and twelve divisions Rocket armies are located throughout the country in such a way as to respond to an enemy strike anywhere in the world at any time: • Vladimir Rocket Army - armed with the most modern and powerful missile systems: Topol-M and Yars The complexes are equipped with RS-12M2, RS-24 missiles• Orenburg Rocket Army - reliable Topol and Voevoda missile systems with RS-12M and RS-20V ballistic missiles are on combat duty• Omsk Rocket Army - missile systems are on combat duty complexes "Topol" and "Voevoda" with ballistic missiles RS-12M and RS-20V Twelve missile divisions are the successors to the famous combat units of the Great Patriotic War:• Bologoevskaya;• Barnaulskaya;• Irkutskaya;• Yoshkar-Olinskaya;• Kozelskaya;• Novosibirskaya ;• Tatishchevskaya;• Tagilskaya;• Teykovskaya;• Uzhurskaya;• Yuryanskaya;• Yasenskaya When considering the history of the development of missile units, one cannot miss the evolution of weapons As the power of warheads decreased, their destructive power and flight range increased In the 60-70s, three megaton R-16Us were in service Since the late 70s, the UR-100 has taken up the baton, then the UR-100K and RT-2PM came along In 2006, RT-2PM2 were on combat duty, and in 2010 they were supported by Yars with an official capacity of a third of a megaton and a flight range of 11 thousand kilometers Combat skills and mastery of new equipment are honed by personnel at the unique Astrakhan training ground The history of Kapustin Yar goes back 70 years The world's only set of measuring instruments allows testing any new missile systems A large role is given to the training of future missile officers Future officers receive higher military education at the Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces named after Peter the Great The university trains officers of two profiles: command and engineering Academy specialists are also valued in civilian life In addition to unique traditions, the Strategic Missile Forces is famous for its symbols: • small emblem - a golden shield in the shape of a circle, an ornament running along the shield, eight rivets on a golden sword and arrows; • medium emblem - a double-headed golden eagle with outstretched wings , in the eagle's claws there is a sword and two silver arrows, on the chest there is a red shield with St George the Victorious and a crown;• a large emblem - a blue shield with a wreath of golden poplar leaves, at the top is the emblem of the country's armed forces The Strategic Missile Forces are undergoing an active stage of large-scale rearmament, but despite this, they consistently maintain combat duty and are ready at any moment to repel the enemy’s attack On the holiday, as is customary, distinguished military personnel are awarded, veterans are honored, and results are summed up The award ceremony is carried out by the top officials of the state, paying tribute to the courage of those who hold the country’s nuclear shield in their hands