108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
Unit Identification
Designation: 108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (108-й зенитный ракетный полк), military unit number 51025. Service: Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), Air and Missile Defense branch (PVO). Common abbreviations in open sources include “108-й ЗРП” and “v/ch 51025.” Public reporting associates the regiment with S-300P-series surface-to-air missile systems.
Mission and Role
Primary role is regional air and missile defense of assigned critical infrastructure, population centers, and military facilities. Tasking includes detection, tracking, and engagement of hostile aircraft, cruise missiles, and, with later system variants, limited tactical ballistic targets. The regiment operates within Russia’s layered Integrated Air Defense System (IADS), coordinating with higher-echelon early warning assets and adjacent air defense units.
Known Equipment Associations
Publicly available, non-classified sources have linked military unit 51025 to both S-300PS and S-300PM variants at different times. Such associations typically reflect phased modernization, mixed inventories during transition, or redistribution of batteries within the Air and Missile Defense Forces. Official, current, unit-specific equipment holdings are not published by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Equipment Profile: S-300PS
S-300PS (Russian designation; NATO: SA-10B Grumble) is a road-mobile, medium-to-long-range SAM system introduced in the early 1980s. Typical components include 5P85-series transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), the 30N6 fire-control radar, optional 76N6 low-altitude and 36D6 surveillance radars, and access to higher-echelon early warning (e.g., 64N6). Standard missiles include 5V55R/RM, providing engagements against aerodynamic targets at significant ranges and altitudes, with multi-target tracking and engagement capability. A firing battalion (battery) usually fields multiple TELs under a single fire-control radar.
Equipment Profile: S-300PM
S-300PM (domestic modernization; export analogues PMU/PMU-1/PMU-2 carry NATO reporting name SA-20) incorporates improved radar, command-and-control, and missile performance over PS. It employs the 48N6-series missile family in domestic service, extending engagement ranges (commonly cited up to roughly 150 km for aerodynamic targets, dependent on missile version and engagement geometry) and improving capabilities against certain ballistic targets. Command posts align to the 83M6/54K6 architecture; fire control uses the 30N6-1 radar, and surveillance commonly integrates 64N6 and other sector radars. The system supports simultaneous engagements against multiple targets with multiple missiles per target.
Organizational Structure (Typical for S-300P Regiments)
A standard S-300P regiment comprises a regimental headquarters and command post, several firing battalions (zrdn), a technical battery for missile preparation and maintenance, signal and communications elements, and logistics/support sub-units. Each firing battalion typically fields one fire-control radar and multiple TELs (often 6–12), along with organic generators, reload vehicles, and radar supports. Aggregate launcher counts at regimental level commonly total several dozen TELs depending on the number of battalions and the period’s table of organization and equipment.
Headquarters and Garrison
The precise, current headquarters address and detailed site coordinates for military unit 51025 are not officially published in open Russian Ministry of Defense sources. Open-source references have associated the regiment with western Russia; however, exact locations and dispositions of sub-units can shift due to rotations, re-equipment, or operational requirements. Specific coordinates and restricted site details are omitted.
Infrastructure Capabilities
Garrison infrastructure for S-300P regiments typically includes surveyed hardstands and revetments for TELs and radars, prepared cable trenches and power distribution points for rapid emplacement, protected missile storage and assembly facilities with climate control, fuel and power support, technical workshops, communications nodes, and secure command posts. Field positions generally feature pre-surveyed pads enabling rapid setup and calibration, with redundancy for alternate sites to complicate targeting.
Command, Control, and Integration
The regiment operates within Russia’s IADS, exchanging target tracks and engagement status with higher-echelon command posts and regional air defense nodes. Typical C2 frameworks for S-300PM include the 83M6/54K6 regimental command post architecture, while both PS and PM variants interface with long-range early warning assets (e.g., 64N6 family radars) and sector sensors (e.g., 36D6/76N6). Integration with adjacent SAM systems and fighter aviation provides layered coverage and engagement deconfliction.
Operational Employment
S-300P regiments employ dispersed firing battalions to maximize coverage and survivability, using a mix of primary and alternate firing positions. Emplacement emphasizes terrain masking for low-altitude threats, radar line-of-sight optimization, and deconfliction with civil air routes. Units typically maintain readiness to displace and reconstitute at alternate sites to reduce vulnerability to preplanned strikes and to sustain coverage during maintenance cycles.
Training and Readiness
Air defense regiments with S-300P systems conduct routine command-staff exercises, march/emplacement drills, radar and fire-control calibration, and simulated engagements. Live-fire events for Russian PVO units are publicly reported at established training ranges, notably Ashuluk (Astrakhan Oblast). Unit-specific live-fire records for military unit 51025 are not officially published; training cycles customarily include annual or periodic checks, readiness inspections, and certification events.
Modernization Context
Across the 2010s–2020s, the Russian PVO has gradually replaced S-300PS with newer systems (e.g., S-400) or upgraded S-300PM/PM2 configurations in selected regions. Public sources have noted continued service of S-300PS/PM in various regiments during the transition. There is no authoritative, public confirmation regarding the exact re-equipment timeline or current inventory status of the 108th Regiment (military unit 51025).
Equipment Variants and Interchangeability
Regiments may temporarily field mixed components during transitions (e.g., PS to PM), but operational batteries generally remain internally standardized to ensure compatibility among TELs, fire-control radars, and command posts. Missile stocks are managed per variant, with PS units using 5V55-series missiles and PM units employing 48N6-series missiles; cross-variant interoperability is constrained by fire-control and command-system compatibility.
Site Security and Protection Measures
Typical security for S-300P regimental sites includes perimeter fencing, controlled access points, hardened shelters for command and technical elements, camouflaging/decoy measures, and layered local air defense coverage. Electromagnetic emission control and mobility are used to reduce detection and targeting risk. Specific protective layouts and procedures for military unit 51025 are not publicly disclosed.
Information Gaps and Confidence Assessment
Confirmed public details: unit designation (108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment), military unit number (51025), and association with S-300P-series systems. Details not publicly available: precise current garrison address, exact subordination at the formation/division level, current inventory counts, and exact site coordinates. Open-source references vary on location and equipment status; consequently, confidence is moderate for general equipment associations (S-300PS/PM) and low for precise, current disposition and inventory.