1490th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
Unit Identification and Designation
The 1490th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment is a surface-to-air missile regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Air and Missile Defense Troops. It is identified in Russian military documentation as military unit (в/ч) 28037. Open-source reporting attributes the regiment’s primary equipment to the S-300PS (NATO: SA-10B Grumble) system. The “Guards” title reflects a historical honorific awarded for distinguished service.
Command Subordination and Area of Responsibility
The regiment operates within the Western Military District’s air and missile defense structure and is associated with the St. Petersburg/Leningrad Oblast air defense network. In Russia’s current force organization, such regiments are subordinated to an air defense division under the 6th Air and Air Defense Army (headquartered in St. Petersburg). Publicly available orders of battle consistently place the 1490th within this regional integrated air defense system (IADS).
Equipment: S-300PS System Overview
The S-300PS is a mobile long-range surface-to-air missile system introduced in the mid-1980s as a self-propelled evolution of the S-300PT. It typically employs 5V55 series missiles (notably 5V55R/RUD), with an engagement range up to approximately 90 km against aerodynamic targets and a practical engagement altitude up to about 27 km. Batteries are mounted on MAZ-543M chassis, enabling rapid “shoot-and-scoot” tactics, with typical emplacement/tear-down times measured in minutes.
Engagement Radars and Sensors
An S-300PS firing unit is centered on an engagement radar of the 30N6 family (Russian designation commonly associated with 5N63S; NATO: Flap Lid) for target tracking and missile guidance. Acquisition and low-altitude coverage are commonly supported by radars such as the 36D6 (Tin Shield) and 76N6 (Clam Shell). Optional 40V6-series masts may be used for elevated radar placement to improve line-of-sight over terrain. The system can guide multiple missiles simultaneously and prosecute several targets concurrently, consistent with S-300P-series design parameters.
Typical Regiment Organization (S-300PS)
While actual tables of organization and equipment vary by unit and timeframe, S-300PS regiments in Russian service are typically composed of two to three firing battalions (divizions). Each battalion generally fields an engagement radar/command element and 8–12 transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), with four ready-to-fire missiles per TEL. A fully equipped regiment of this type therefore fields dozens of ready-to-launch missiles, augmented by reload vehicles, mobile power units, maintenance assets, and dedicated communications and command posts.
Infrastructure and Basing Patterns
Regimental infrastructure typically includes a headquarters area (administration, communications, logistics), vehicle parks for MAZ-based launchers and support equipment, ammunition storage compliant with explosive safety regulations, and multiple pre-surveyed firing positions dispersed around the defended area. For units covering the St. Petersburg region, prepared sites are distributed to provide overlapping fields of fire and redundancy. Precise HQ addresses and site coordinates for military unit 28037 are not consistently published in official public sources and are therefore not detailed here.
Operational Role and Integration
The 1490th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment contributes to the layered air defense of the St. Petersburg/Leningrad Oblast area, a priority region hosting military and critical civilian infrastructure. In routine operations, S-300PS regiments are integrated into regional IADS alongside higher- and lower-tier systems (e.g., S-400, S-350 where fielded, and point-defense systems such as Pantsir-S), and are networked to higher-echelon command-and-control nodes used by Russia’s Air and Missile Defense Troops. This integration allows coordinated target allocation and deconfliction across the defended airspace.
Readiness, Training, and Exercises
Air defense regiments in the Western Military District conduct regular tactical training cycles that include field deployments to pre-surveyed positions, rapid emplacement/teardown drills, and electronic training engagements. Live-fire events for S-300P-series units are typically conducted at designated ranges such as Ashuluk (Astrakhan Oblast) during scheduled exercises. Regional air-defense activities often align with district and national-level drills; participation by specific regiments in particular serials varies by training calendar and is not always publicly enumerated.
Modernization and Replacement Trends
Across the Russian Aerospace Forces, legacy S-300PS units have been progressively supplanted by newer systems, notably S-400 and the S-350 Vityaz, a process reported throughout the 2010s and 2020s. The pace and sequence of re-equipment are uneven and contingent on production, prioritization, and operational requirements. As of publicly available reporting through 2024, S-300PS remains in active service in multiple regiments; open sources do not provide authoritative confirmation that military unit 28037 has fully transitioned to a newer system.
Historical Status and Honors
The “Guards” designation denotes an honorific inherited from Soviet and Russian military traditions, awarded for exceptional performance. Anti-aircraft missile regiments with this status typically trace lineage to distinguished wartime or Cold War-era PVO formations. While detailed lineage records for the 1490th regiment are maintained within Russian military archival and ceremonial documentation, specific archival particulars are not comprehensively available in open sources.
Designations and Identifiers
Common forms encountered in open-source references include: 1490th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment; 1490-й гвардейский зенитный ракетный полк; military unit 28037 (в/ч 28037); and references explicitly noting S-300PS equipment. Variations in transliteration and abbreviation (e.g., 1490th GZRP, 1490th ZRP) may appear across Russian and non-Russian publications.
Open-Source Footprint and Data Limitations
Available information on military unit 28037 derives from open-source orders of battle, defense reporting, and incidental procurement or local administrative references. Russian Ministry of Defense publications seldom enumerate full manning levels, exact internal organization, or precise site coordinates for active air-defense regiments. Where such specific details are not consistently or authoritatively published, they are not included. The core identifiers—unit title, number (28037), service affiliation, region, and S-300PS equipment—are corroborated across multiple open sources as of 2024.