18th Machine Gun Artillery Division
Formation Overview
The 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division is a Russian Ground Forces formation specialized in island and coastal defense. Subordinate to the 68th Army Corps of the Eastern Military District, it is stationed in the southern Kuril Islands (Sakhalin Oblast, Russian Federation). The division maintains permanent garrisons and fortified firing positions integrating artillery, armor, and short-range air defense to deny amphibious landings and control narrow maritime approaches between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean.
Command and Unit Identifiers
The division’s headquarters is designated military unit 05812. The division includes at least two line regiments: the 46th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment (military unit 71435) and the 49th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment (military unit 71356). These identifiers (в/ч numbers) are publicly reported for the formation and its principal regiments.
Geographic Disposition and Garrisons
The division is deployed across the southern Kuril Islands. Public reporting places the headquarters (military unit 05812) on Iturup Island (Kurilsk District). The 49th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment (military unit 71356) is also on Iturup Island. The 46th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment (military unit 71435) is garrisoned on Kunashir Island (Yuzhno-Kurilsk District). These islands lie between the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific, close to Japan’s Hokkaido, and are administered by the Russian Federation as part of Sakhalin Oblast.
Mission and Role
The division’s mission is territorial defense of the southern Kuril Islands, with emphasis on counter‑amphibious operations, control of littoral approaches, and protection of key infrastructure and population centers on Iturup and Kunashir. Its composition—machine gun and artillery units with organic armor and short‑range air defense—supports sustained defense from fortified and prepared positions in a constrained island battlespace.
46th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment (military unit 71435)
The 46th Regiment is garrisoned on Kunashir Island. Publicly listed equipment includes T‑72B main battle tanks, BM‑21 Grad 122 mm multiple launch rocket systems, 2S5 Giatsint‑S 152 mm self‑propelled guns, and 9K332M Tor‑M2U short‑range air defense systems. The regiment’s role supports ground maneuver, coastal denial fires, and local air defense for its sector on Kunashir.
49th Machine Gun Artillery Regiment (military unit 71356)
The 49th Regiment is stationed on Iturup Island. Publicly listed equipment includes T‑72B main battle tanks, BM‑21 Grad 122 mm multiple launch rocket systems, 2S5 Giatsint‑S 152 mm self‑propelled guns, and 9K332M Tor‑M2U short‑range air defense systems. The regiment’s role provides the Iturup sector with armored support, long‑range fires, area‑saturation rockets, and point air defense.
Division Headquarters (military unit 05812)
The divisional headquarters (military unit 05812) is located on Iturup Island and provides command and control, logistics coordination, and operational planning for subordinate regiments. It integrates island‑wide air defense, fires deconfliction, and sustainment across Iturup and Kunashir and links the division to the 68th Army Corps and Eastern Military District command networks.
Armored Capability: T‑72B
The T‑72B main battle tank mounts a 125 mm 2A46 series smoothbore gun with an autoloader and is capable of firing 9M119 Svir gun‑launched anti‑tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to approximately 4–5 km. The T‑72B incorporates explosive reactive armor (Kontakt‑1 on baseline B) and provides the division with mobile, protected direct‑fire support for counter‑landing operations and defense of key terrain on island road networks.
Artillery and Rocket Fires: 2S5 Giatsint‑S and BM‑21 Grad
The 2S5 Giatsint‑S is a 152 mm self‑propelled gun with a conventional range of roughly 28 km and up to about 33 km with rocket‑assisted projectiles, providing long‑range counter‑battery and interdiction fires. The BM‑21 Grad is a 40‑tube 122 mm multiple launch rocket system capable of salvo fire; standard rockets reach approximately 20 km, with extended‑range munitions reaching about 40 km (munition‑dependent). Together, these systems enable area denial, suppression of landing zones, and interdiction of approach routes.
Short‑Range Air Defense: 9K332M Tor‑M2U
The 9K332M Tor‑M2U is a tracked short‑range air defense system designed to engage low‑altitude aircraft, cruise missiles, and UAVs. Typical engagement parameters for Tor‑M2U with 9M331‑series missiles are up to approximately 12 km in range and up to around 10 km in altitude (munition and conditions dependent). The system features rapid reaction times and the ability to track multiple targets, providing point and local‑area protection for maneuver and static assets on the islands.
Infrastructure and Access
The division’s posture is supported by island infrastructure. Iturup Island hosts the civilian Iturup (Yasny) Airport and the military Burevestnik airfield; Kunashir Island has Mendeleyevo Airport. Primary seaports are at Kurilsk (Iturup) and Yuzhno‑Kurilsk (Kunashir). These facilities support personnel rotation, materiel reception, and intra‑theater movement under Eastern Military District control. Road networks are limited and weather‑affected, shaping deployment patterns and the siting of permanent garrisons.
Logistics and Sustainment
Sustainment relies on sealift and airlift from Sakhalin, with sea lines commonly running from ports in Sakhalin Oblast to Kurilsk (Iturup) and Yuzhno‑Kurilsk (Kunashir). Stocks are maintained in island garrisons to mitigate weather‑related disruptions. Heavy equipment movements are primarily by sea. The division’s logistics integrate with regional military supply chains of the Eastern Military District and the 68th Army Corps.
Regional Military Context
Beyond the division itself, Russian coastal defense assets have been deployed in the southern Kurils; the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the emplacement of K‑300P Bastion‑P and 3K60 Bal coastal missile systems in the area in 2016. These systems belong to coastal defense forces and complement the division’s ground defense by extending anti‑ship coverage of the littorals. Air defense and maritime domain awareness in the region integrate Eastern Military District and Pacific Fleet capabilities.
Operational Environment and Constraints
The islands’ terrain, limited road networks, and severe weather (including fog, high winds, and seasonal storms) affect mobility, air operations, and sustainment. These conditions favor pre‑surveyed, fortified positions and dispersed logistics nodes. The division’s equipment set—self‑propelled artillery, tracked air defense, and tanks—reflects the need for all‑weather, ground‑dominant defense and rapid local response within constrained island corridors.
Information Availability
Unit designations, garrisons, and the listed equipment types (T‑72B, BM‑21 Grad, 2S5 Giatsint‑S, 9K332M Tor‑M2U) are publicly reported. Detailed personnel strengths, exact equipment quantities, readiness levels, and specific defensive layouts are not publicly available; if such information exists, it is not released in open sources or is classified.