568th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment
Unit Identification
The 568th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Russian: 568-й зенитный ракетный полк), military unit number 28042 (в/ч 28042), is a formation of the Air and Missile Defence Troops (PVO) within the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation (VKS). Open-source references associate this regiment with the S-300PS (С-300ПС) surface-to-air missile system. The military unit number serves as the regiment’s official numeric identifier in Russian administrative and legal documentation.
Role and Mission
The regiment’s mission is the ground-based air and missile defense of designated areas and critical assets, contributing to the layered national integrated air defense system. Tasks include continuous airspace monitoring, identification and tracking of aerial objects, and engagement of hostile aircraft, cruise missiles, and certain classes of tactical ballistic threats within the performance envelope of its assigned equipment.
Primary Equipment: S-300PS System Overview
The S-300PS (SA-10 series) is a road-mobile, long-range surface-to-air missile system accepted into Soviet service in the early 1980s. It uses cold-launch canisterized missiles of the 5V55 family and a mobile engagement radar and command post. Typical components include 5P85S/5P85D transporter-erector-launchers (four missiles per TEL), the 5N63S engagement radar, and associated surveillance and low-altitude detection radars. Depending on the missile variant employed, the S-300PS can engage targets at ranges up to approximately 90 km and altitudes up to roughly 27 km, with multi-target capability (commonly cited as up to 6 targets engaged simultaneously with two missiles per target at the battalion level).
Organizational Structure
An anti-aircraft missile regiment of this type is organized around a regimental headquarters and command post, multiple firing battalions (divizions), a technical unit for missile storage and preparation, communications, engineering, logistics, medical, and security subunits. Exact internal composition and the number of firing battalions for this regiment are not specified in reliable public sources; however, the structure follows standard PVO regimental patterns designed to maintain continuous readiness and sustained operations.
Command Subordination and Integration
The regiment forms part of the VKS Air and Missile Defence Troops and is subordinated through an air defense division or corps to an Air and Air Defence Army aligned with a Military District. It is integrated into the national air defense network, receiving target designation from radio-technical troops and higher-echelon command posts and contributing to the layered defense alongside other long-range SAM units, medium-range systems, short-range point defenses, and fighter aviation.
Headquarters and Basing
The regiment’s military unit number (в/ч 28042) is publicly associated with its administrative identity. Authoritative open sources available in the public domain do not provide a verified garrison address or precise headquarters location for this unit; therefore, those details are not included here.
Infrastructure and Site Layout
Peacetime S-300PS regimental deployments typically consist of prepared firing positions with hardened or semi-prepared launch pads for TELs, separate radar positions (including mast-equipped low-altitude detectors), a regimental command post, and logistics/maintenance areas. Field deployments are fully mobile, with organic power generation and the ability to disperse TELs and radars to reduce vulnerability. Standard layouts place the engagement radar and command assets centrally, with TELs in revetted or concealed positions to ensure overlapping engagement sectors.
Sensors and Command-and-Control
The S-300PS battalion uses the 5N63S engagement radar and can be paired with surveillance radars such as the 36D6 for three-dimensional air search, supplemented by low-altitude detectors (e.g., 76N6 or 5N66M) often mounted on 40V6-series masts to improve line-of-sight at low elevations. At higher echelons, Russian air defense units employ automated command-and-control systems that can include platforms such as Baikal-1 and Polyana-D4M1, enabling data exchange and coordinated engagement across multiple regiments and sensor networks.
Engagement Envelope and Capabilities
Within its technical limits, the S-300PS provides area air defense against fixed-wing aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft, and cruise missiles, and can counter certain types of tactical ballistic targets within specified speed and altitude parameters. Engagement ranges vary with missile type and target profile but are commonly cited up to approximately 90 km in range and 25–27 km in altitude for the 5V55R series. The system uses command guidance and cold vertical launch, enabling rapid multi-directional engagements and high missile readiness.
Mobility and Deployment Timelines
The S-300PS is designed for mobility and comparatively rapid emplacement. In standard training and technical literature, road-mobile components can transition from march to combat-ready posture within minutes under prepared conditions, enabling redeployment to alternate sites to complicate adversary targeting and to tailor coverage to evolving operational needs.
Logistics and Sustainment
Regimental sustainment includes missile storage in sealed transport-launch containers, regular technical inspections and periodic servicing, fuel and power supply for generators and vehicles, and spares for radars and command vehicles. Reload operations use dedicated transport and handling equipment and trained crews. Integration with higher-echelon technical bases supports deeper-level maintenance and missile preparation.
Training and Readiness
Russian air defense regiments conduct continuous crew training, system checks, and tactical drills. Live-fire events for PVO units are regularly held at established ranges, notably the Ashuluk range in Astrakhan Oblast under the 185th Combat Training and Combat Employment Center of the VKS. These activities validate crew proficiency, system serviceability, and interoperability within the broader air defense network.
Modernization Context
Across the VKS, S-300PS regiments have been progressively re-equipped since the late 2000s with newer systems such as the S-400 Triumf and, in some formations, the S-350 Vityaz. As of publicly available reporting through 2024, S-300PS remains in active service in multiple regions alongside newer systems. Open sources that mention the 568th regiment identify it with S-300PS; no authoritative public announcement specifically detailing a re-equipment of this regiment has been published in those sources.
Coordination with Other Forces
Operationally, the regiment’s coverage is complemented by radio-technical troops (ground-based radar networks), adjacent SAM regiments providing overlapping engagement zones, point-defense systems that protect critical nodes, and fighter aviation units tasked with intercept operations. This layered approach enables detection, tracking, and engagement across a wide spectrum of altitudes and ranges.
Open-Source Identifiers and Data Reliability
The identifiers “568th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment” and “military unit 28042” appear in Russian-language open sources, including public references to unit rosters, legal documents, and media mentions, and are consistent with standard VKS unit nomenclature. Specific details such as exact garrison location, current battalion count, and on-hand missile stocks are not confirmed in authoritative public sources and are therefore not provided here.