53rd Air Defense Division
Unit Overview and Nomenclature
The entities referenced correspond to Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) air and air-defense (PVO) units based in Kamchatka Krai. The correct English designations are: 53rd Air Defense Division (53-я дивизия ПВО); 1532nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, military unit number v/ch 60027 (1532-й зенитный ракетный полк, в/ч 60027); and 60th Radio-Technical Regiment, military unit number v/ch 52020 (60-й радиотехнический полк, в/ч 52020). The repeated string 1532th is a typographical error for 1532nd. The notations 52020-3 and 52020-4 are administrative sub-designators commonly used for subordinate elements of v/ch 52020 in open-source rosters; official granular staffing and exact locations of these sub-elements are not publicly disclosed.
Command Subordination
Open sources place the 53rd Air Defense Division within the 11th Air and Air Defense Army of the VKS, which is responsible for air and missile defense across Russia’s Far East. Within this structure, the 1532nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (v/ch 60027) and the 60th Radio-Technical Regiment (v/ch 52020) are part of the Kamchatka air-defense grouping. Detailed orders of battle, internal command relationships, and exact manning levels are not officially published in the public domain.
Location Analysis
Both v/ch 60027 (1532nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment) and v/ch 52020 (60th Radio-Technical Regiment) are publicly associated with Yelizovo, Kamchatka Krai, adjacent to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. This positioning affords radar and missile coverage of the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and approaches from the North Pacific. The area also hosts Yelizovo Air Base and is proximate to the Pacific Fleet’s facilities around Avacha Bay and Vilyuchinsk. Specific coordinates of regiment headquarters, battalion positions, and radar outposts are not officially released.
1532nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (v/ch 60027): Equipment and Capabilities
The Kamchatka air-defense regiment transitioned from legacy S-300PS systems to S-400 Triumf during 2015–2016 per Russian Ministry of Defense announcements of S-400 assumption of combat duty in Kamchatka. S-400 components typically include 91N6 series acquisition radar, 92N6 engagement radar, 55K6 command post, 96L6 all-altitude radar, and transporter-erector-launchers for 48N6-family interceptors; the long-range 40N6 missile is in series service force-wide, but specific loadouts for v/ch 60027 are not publicly detailed. A regiment-level S-400 formation in Russian service generally fields two to three battalions; the exact battalion count and launcher totals for the 1532nd are not disclosed. Point-defense assets (e.g., Pantsir-S1) are routinely employed to protect S-400 sites in VKS service; any particular co-deployments with v/ch 60027 have not been officially specified.
60th Radio-Technical Regiment (v/ch 52020): Roles and Assets
The 60th Radio-Technical Regiment provides the ground-based radar picture and target designation support for the division’s air-defense network in Kamchatka. Its tasks include continuous airspace surveillance, low-altitude gap filling in mountainous terrain, and data provision to higher-echelon command-and-control nodes and firing units. The VKS has fielded modern three-dimensional radars in the Far East (for example, 55Zh6M Nebo-M family, 59N6 Protivnik, 96L6 variants, and low-altitude Podlet-K systems). While such systems are publicly reported in the theater, the exact radar inventory and the allocation of specific radar types to v/ch 52020 and its detachments are not officially enumerated.
Subunit Identifiers (52020-3 and 52020-4)
The references 52020-3 and 52020-4 correspond to subordinate elements administratively tied to the 60th Radio-Technical Regiment (v/ch 52020). In Russian military administrative practice, hyphenated suffixes frequently denote separate companies, battalions, or detached radar posts under the parent unit. Publicly available materials do not specify the geographic locations, radar sets, or manning of these particular subelements.
Operational Area and Protected Infrastructure
The division’s area of responsibility covers the Kamchatka Peninsula and maritime approaches from the North Pacific and Bering Sea sectors. The air-defense posture in this region supports the protection of critical military and dual-use infrastructure including the regional center Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yelizovo Air Base, and the Pacific Fleet’s facilities in and around Avacha Bay and Vilyuchinsk. The region’s rugged terrain requires layered radar coverage and elevated siting to maximize radar horizon and engagement opportunities for long-range surface-to-air missile systems.
Integration and Command-and-Control
The Kamchatka air-defense grouping operates within the VKS automated air-defense command-and-control architecture. S-400 units are commanded via the 55K6 series command post and integrate with acquisition and engagement radars as part of the 30K6 system. Ground-based radar data from the radio-technical regiment is fused and forwarded through VKS automated systems to support engagement decisions and to coordinate with fighter aviation based at Yelizovo. Specific C2 equipment suites and network configurations assigned to the 53rd Air Defense Division are not publicly described in official sources.
Related Aviation Forces
Kamchatka’s air-defense network is complemented by fighter aviation based at Yelizovo, notably MiG-31-series interceptor forces reported in open sources. These aircraft provide long-range interception and contribute to the overall air-defense coverage in coordination with ground-based missile units and radar assets. Detailed aircraft counts, readiness levels, and alert procedures are not publicly disclosed.
Training and Publicly Reported Activity
Russian Ministry of Defense releases have periodically reported on air-defense drills and readiness checks in Kamchatka, including S-400 alerting, electronic launches, and target tracking exercises. Units from the Far Eastern air-defense grouping have also participated in large-scale strategic exercises such as Vostok iterations. Specific live-fire events for the 1532nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment are not routinely conducted in Kamchatka due to range constraints; VKS air-defense units commonly conduct live-fire training at established ranges elsewhere in Russia, but official attributions by regimental number are not consistently provided.
Infrastructure and Deployment Patterns
Air-defense infrastructure in the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yelizovo area includes regiment garrisons, maintenance and storage areas, and prepared elevated firing positions that optimize radar line-of-sight over the Avacha Bay approaches and surrounding terrain. Radio-technical regiment assets are distributed across multiple radar posts to ensure continuous coverage, with communications links to the divisional and army-level command nodes. Specific site coordinates, hardened facility layouts, ammunition storage locations, and internal logistics routes are not officially available.
Data Confidence and Limitations
The unit numbers, basic roles, and general basing in Yelizovo for v/ch 60027 and v/ch 52020 are corroborated in open-source materials, including Russian administrative and media references. However, granular order-of-battle details such as exact subunit organization, radar and missile inventory by site, deployment coordinates, manning levels, alert posture, and internal command arrangements are not publicly disclosed and are treated as sensitive by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Where specific equipment types are mentioned, they reflect officially announced deployments in Kamchatka or standard S-400 system components in VKS service; unit-specific configurations for the 1532nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment and 60th Radio-Technical Regiment have not been officially detailed.