27th Guards Missile Army
Organizational Overview
The 27th Guards Missile Army is a field army-level formation of the Russian Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN). It is one of three missile armies publicly described through 2024, alongside the 31st Missile Army and the 33rd Guards Missile Army. Its mission is to direct the combat readiness, training, and operations of multiple intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) divisions primarily stationed in the European part of the Russian Federation. The formation reports to the Main Command of the RVSN headquartered at Vlasikha, Moscow Oblast. The Guards title denotes an honorary designation carried by the formation under Russian military tradition.
Headquarters (military unit 43176, Vladimir-21)
Military unit 43176 is publicly identified as the Headquarters of the 27th Guards Missile Army. Open sources associate the headquarters with the closed locality designator Vladimir-21 in Vladimir Oblast. As an army headquarters, the site hosts staff sections responsible for operations, intelligence, communications, logistics, engineering, medical support, and personnel administration for all subordinate formations. It functions as the principal administrative and operational control node for the army in peacetime and crisis, coordinating combat duty status, training plans, and support to fielded ICBM regiments. Exact street addresses, internal layout, and protected facilities are not published in official sources.
Army Commander
Publicly available Russian military reporting identifies Lieutenant General Oleg Glazunov as the commander of the 27th Guards Missile Army. This reflects reporting through 2024; any subsequent changes in command may not be reflected in public sources. The army commander is responsible for force readiness, nuclear safety and surety, command and control of assigned missile divisions, and compliance with directives from the RVSN Main Command and the Ministry of Defence.
Command Post (military unit 71380)
Military unit 71380 is publicly referenced as the Command Post of the 27th Guards Missile Army. The command post is a hardened, continuously manned facility providing operational command-and-control of subordinate divisions, with redundancy and survivability separate from the administrative headquarters. It is integrated into the RVSN’s automated command-and-control architecture and the national-level nuclear command-and-control system commonly known as Kazbek. Specific technical parameters, precise location, and protective features of the command post are not publicly released.
Subordinate Formations and Basing
Open-source materials attribute the following ICBM divisions to the 27th Guards Missile Army: the 7th Guards Missile Division (Vypolzovo, Tver Oblast), operating road-mobile ICBMs; the 14th Missile Division (Yoshkar-Ola, Republic of Mari El), operating road-mobile ICBMs; the 28th Guards Missile Division (Kozelsk, Kaluga Oblast), operating silo-based ICBMs; and the 54th Guards Missile Division (Teykovo, Ivanovo Oblast), operating road-mobile ICBMs. Russian official publications do not provide a complete, routinely updated order of battle by army, and unit alignments can change due to rearmament or organizational decisions; the divisions listed here are those most consistently linked to the 27th Army in publicly available sources through 2024.
Missile Systems under Control
Divisions associated with the 27th Guards Missile Army field modernized solid-fuel ICBMs. The primary system is the RS-24 Yars (NATO reporting name SS-27 Mod 2), deployed in both road-mobile and silo-based variants. Open sources describe Yars as a three-stage missile with an estimated intercontinental range on the order of 10,500 to 12,000 kilometers and equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles; the exact warhead count and yields are not officially disclosed. Some formations, particularly at Teykovo, have also been reported with RS-12M2 Topol-M (SS-27 Mod 1), a single-warhead solid-fuel ICBM in mobile and silo configurations; these legacy missiles have been progressively superseded by Yars. Detailed missile counts by regiment, warhead loadings, and alert configurations are classified.
Command, Control, and Communications
The army’s headquarters and dedicated command post maintain round-the-clock control over subordinate regiments via the RVSN automated command-and-control system, with redundant terrestrial, radio, and satellite communications. Integration with national-level nuclear command-and-control ensures transmission and authentication of directives, including launch control messages, under strict procedural safeguards. The architecture is echeloned and incorporates alternate command posts to preserve continuity of control under stress. Specific equipment types, frequencies, routing schemes, and authentication processes are not publicly disclosed.
Infrastructure and Support Capabilities
Headquarters and divisional infrastructure include operations centers, communications hubs, motor pools and maintenance areas for transporter-erector-launchers and support vehicles, engineer-technical services, and logistics depots. Mobile ICBM operations rely on security, camouflage, and deception measures, including protected shelters and prepared field deployment areas within divisional regions. Nuclear warhead storage, handling, and technical maintenance are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence’s 12th Main Directorate; the locations and procedures of these facilities are not publicly released.
Training, Exercises, and Readiness
Divisions under the 27th Guards Missile Army conduct continuous combat duty, periodic dispersal to field positions, and scheduled training cycles highlighted in Russian Ministry of Defence releases. They routinely participate in Strategic Rocket Forces exercises and national-level strategic command-post drills often termed Grom, which test nuclear command-and-control, readiness, and reliability across the triad. The Ministry of Defence periodically announces ICBM test launches from Plesetsk and silo complexes; public reporting does not consistently attribute individual launch events to specific army divisions.
Treaty and Verification Context
The 27th Guards Missile Army’s launchers and warheads are within the accountability framework of the New START Treaty, which entered into force in 2011 and was extended to 5 February 2026. On 21 February 2023, the Russian Federation announced a suspension of its participation in New START; subsequent regular data exchanges and on-site inspections were halted. As a result, current site-specific counts and configurations for individual army locations are not available from treaty notifications. Russia has stated publicly that it would continue to observe the treaty’s central numerical limits; independent verification has been curtailed.
Security and Access Restrictions
The headquarters and command post associated with the 27th Guards Missile Army are situated within controlled military garrisons, with the headquarters referenced in open sources by the closed locality designator Vladimir-21. Access is restricted, and detailed description or imaging of protected facilities is limited by Russian law. Site security is provided by organic Strategic Rocket Forces security and support units, with coordination as required with other state security agencies. Specific guard rosters, physical security measures, and internal layouts are not publicly released.
Public Identifiers and Data Reliability
The identifiers military unit 43176 and military unit 71380 appear in publicly accessible Russian legal, procurement, or media documents as the 27th Guards Missile Army’s headquarters and command post, respectively. Russian military unit numbers can function as postal and administrative identifiers and may be reassigned or masked over time. While the general roles of these units are consistently reported, finer-grained details such as exact addresses, personnel strength, and technical specifications are either classified or not systematically disclosed; consequently, open-source information should be cross-checked and time-stamped when used.