42nd Missile Division
Organizational Overview
The 42nd Missile Division (military unit 34103) is a formation of the Russian Federation’s Strategic Rocket Forces (RVSN) that operates road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles. It is headquartered in the Nizhny Tagil area of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Open-source defense reporting identifies its subordinate regiments as the 308th Guards Missile Regiment (military unit 15467), the 433rd Guards Missile Regiment (military unit 19972), and the 804th Missile Regiment (military unit 93401). The division’s mission is strategic nuclear deterrence through continuous combat duty and the capacity for rapid dispersal and launch from designated patrol routes.
Order of Battle and Equipment
All three listed regiments are reported in public sources to be equipped with the RS-24 Yars road-mobile ICBM (PGRK), the current standard mobile system in the RVSN. Prior to rearmament, the division fielded RT-2PM Topol (SS-25). By the late 2010s, open reporting indicated the Tagil division’s transition to Yars had been completed. Exact launcher counts per regiment are not officially published; a typical RVSN mobile regiment fields three battalions with three launchers each (nine TELs), supported by command, engineering, security, and logistics subunits.
Location and Area of Operations
Headquarters and garrisons are in and around Nizhny Tagil, a major industrial city with rail connectivity in the central Urals. The broader divisional area in Sverdlovsk Oblast provides mixed forest and rolling terrain with an extensive network of paved and unpaved roads used for combat patrol routes. The region’s climate—long winters with snow cover and short summers—requires specialized mobility, camouflage, and maintenance practices for road-mobile missile operations. Precise coordinates of regimental deployment sites and patrol areas are not publicly released.
Infrastructure and Facilities
The division’s permanent deployment sites include hardened garages and shelters for transporter-erector-launchers and support vehicles; guarded perimeters; protected command posts; signal, maintenance, and medical facilities; and a technical position for missile preparation and servicing. Road-mobile units employ purpose-built covered shelters colloquially referred to in open sources as “sheds” or “Krona” structures to reduce visual and infrared signatures. Railheads in the Nizhny Tagil area enable delivery of missiles and heavy equipment to the technical position; from there, TELs and support columns move under their own power. Facility layouts and detailed access control measures are restricted information.
Missile System: RS-24 Yars (Mobile)
RS-24 Yars is a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile fielded in both silo-based and road-mobile variants. The mobile system mounts the canisterized missile on an MZKT-79221 16x16 chassis. Open-source estimates place its range in the 10,500–12,000 km class, with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) payload typically described as three to four warheads. Initial flight testing occurred in 2007, and the system entered RVSN service in the early 2010s. NATO nomenclature commonly refers to RS-24 as SS-27 Mod 2; some sources list SS-29. Specific performance parameters and warhead configurations in current service are not publicly disclosed.
Operations and Readiness
Road-mobile regiments conduct combat duty both from permanent garrison positions and by dispersing along pre-planned routes to temporary field launch positions. Standard activities include routine readiness checks, command-post exercises, multi-day marches, and concealment and deception drills. Communications employ redundant wired and radio channels to maintain connectivity with higher echelons. Launchers and command vehicles operate within a layered security bubble, and units practice rapid transition from march to firing posture as part of established RVSN procedures. Detailed duty cycles and alert postures are not released publicly.
Security and Counter-Sabotage Measures
Mobile ICBM units are protected by dedicated security and engineering elements equipped with specialized systems such as the BPDM Typhoon-M (15Ts56M) anti-sabotage vehicle with integrated surveillance UAVs and the 15M107 Listva electromagnetic mine-clearing vehicle for route clearance. Additional measures include perimeter sensors, patrols, decoy positions, camouflage and concealment materials, and field fortifications at temporary sites. Specific deployment of these assets within the 42nd Missile Division is not officially detailed, but their use is consistently documented across RVSN mobile formations.
Modernization and Transition History
The 42nd Missile Division historically operated RT-2PM Topol road-mobile ICBMs. As part of RVSN modernization, its regiments were reequipped with RS-24 Yars during the 2010s. Russian Ministry of Defense communications and independent monitoring reported the completion of Yars rearmament for the division’s mobile regiments by the end of that decade. The transition included infrastructure upgrades at permanent deployment points and technical positions to support the newer missile system and associated support equipment.
308th Guards Missile Regiment (military unit 15467)
The 308th Guards Missile Regiment is a subordinate unit of the 42nd Missile Division and operates the RS-24 Yars in its road-mobile configuration. The regiment carries the “Guards” honorary title, reflecting historic distinctions. Its structure follows the RVSN model for mobile regiments, with missile battalions, a regimental command post, signal, engineering, logistics, and dedicated security elements. The regiment is garrisoned within the Nizhny Tagil divisional area; detailed location data, launcher totals, and duty schedules are not publicly disclosed.
433rd Guards Missile Regiment (military unit 19972)
The 433rd Guards Missile Regiment belongs to the 42nd Missile Division and fields RS-24 Yars road-mobile launchers. Like other RVSN mobile regiments, it maintains the ability to disperse over designated patrol routes and occupy temporary field launch positions. Open reports of rearmament to Yars date to the mid-to-late 2010s. Specific information on the regiment’s internal order of battle, equipment quantities, and patrol sectors is restricted.
804th Missile Regiment (military unit 93401)
The 804th Missile Regiment is a non-“Guards” regiment within the 42nd Missile Division and is equipped with RS-24 Yars mobile ICBMs. Its organization, support assets, and operational patterns align with standard RVSN practice for road-mobile ICBM formations. Publicly available data confirm its assignment to the division and its Yars equipment; granular details such as the number of transporter-erector-launchers and precise garrison coordinates are not published.
Command Relationships
The 42nd Missile Division is subordinate to the Strategic Rocket Forces. Open sources typically associate the division with one of the RVSN’s missile armies; however, current official army-level subordination is not explicitly published in authoritative public documents. Regardless of army assignment, operational control, training oversight, and logistical support follow established RVSN command channels from regiment through division and army to RVSN Headquarters.
External Connectivity and Logistics
Nizhny Tagil’s industrial base and rail network support reception of missiles and heavy equipment at the division’s technical position, while regional road networks facilitate movement of mobile columns to training areas and patrol regions. Fuel supply, routine maintenance, and periodic depot-level work are conducted under RVSN procedures with assistance from industry enterprises and specialized military repair units. Munitions handling and nuclear warhead custody fall under the 12th Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense; specific arrangements and storage sites are classified.
Arms Control Context
Under the 2010 New START Treaty (entered into force 5 February 2011), mobile ICBMs such as RS-24 Yars were accountable systems subject to data exchanges and on-site inspections. The Russian Federation announced suspension of its participation in New START on 21 February 2023; as a result, routine inspections and detailed data sharing have ceased. Prior to suspension, the treaty did not disclose unit-level data to the public; consequently, the number of deployed Yars launchers by regiment or division was never published.
Information Reliability and Gaps
The unit designations listed—42nd Missile Division (military unit 34103), 308th Guards Missile Regiment (military unit 15467), 433rd Guards Missile Regiment (military unit 19972), and 804th Missile Regiment (military unit 93401)—are widely cited in open-source reporting. Equipment type (RS-24 Yars) for these regiments is likewise publicly reported. Precise force levels, patrol areas, command post locations, and warhead configurations are not publicly available; such details are classified. Where quantitative parameters are provided (for example, RS-24 range and MIRV count), they reflect open-source estimates rather than official disclosures.