7th Guards Missile Division
Executive Summary
The 7th Guards Missile Division (military unit 14245) is a formation of the Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN) of the Russian Federation, based in the Vypolzovo/Bologoye area of Tver Oblast. It operates road‑mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) systems RS‑24 Yars (NATO reporting name: SS‑27 Mod 2) through at least two missile regiments—the 41st Missile Regiment (military unit 14264) and the 510th Missile Regiment (military unit 52642). The division is supported by specialized units including the 281st Communications Center (military unit 03394), the 509th Separate Engineer‑Sapper Battalion (military unit 03071), and the 1501st Repair and Technical Base (military unit 33787). Publicly available information indicates the division completed rearmament from legacy Topol systems to RS‑24 Yars during the late 2010s–early 2020s; exact dates, detailed inventories, and warhead handling procedures are not publicly disclosed.
Chain of Command and Organizational Status
The 7th Guards Missile Division is part of the Strategic Missile Forces (Raketnye voyska strategicheskogo naznacheniya, RVSN), which are a separate service branch of the Russian Armed Forces. Open sources consistently place the division under the 27th Guards Missile Army (headquartered in Vladimir). The division commands at least the 41st Missile Regiment (military unit 14264) and the 510th Missile Regiment (military unit 52642), both equipped with RS‑24 Yars, along with divisional support units including the 281st Communications Center (military unit 03394), the 509th Separate Engineer‑Sapper Battalion (military unit 03071), and the 1501st Repair and Technical Base (military unit 33787).
Location and Geographic Context
The division is based in the vicinity of Vypolzovo (often referenced historically with the postal designation Bologoye‑4), Bologovsky District, Tver Oblast, Russian Federation. This area lies along major national transport corridors between Moscow and Saint Petersburg, including the Oktyabrskaya railway line and the M10 federal highway corridor. The region’s extensive forest cover and mixed road network are consistent with the operating requirements of road‑mobile ICBM units. Precise coordinates and detailed internal site layouts are not publicly released.
Order of Battle and Subordinate Units
The division’s publicly identified elements include: 1) 41st Missile Regiment (military unit 14264) – road‑mobile RS‑24 Yars; 2) 510th Missile Regiment (military unit 52642) – road‑mobile RS‑24 Yars; 3) 281st Communications Center (military unit 03394) – provides divisional communications and automated command‑and‑control support; 4) 509th Separate Engineer‑Sapper Battalion (military unit 03071) – delivers engineering support for mobility, fortification, camouflage, route clearance, and survivability for mobile operations; 5) 1501st Repair and Technical Base (military unit 33787) – supports missile system maintenance and technical servicing functions. Additional internal security, logistics, medical, and training elements are standard for RVSN divisions but are not exhaustively listed in open sources.
Missile System: RS‑24 Yars (SS‑27 Mod 2)
The RS‑24 Yars is a solid‑propellant, MIRV‑capable intercontinental ballistic missile fielded in both road‑mobile and silo‑based variants; the 7th Guards Missile Division operates the road‑mobile variant. Public data indicate an intercontinental range in excess of 10,000 km. The missile is carried on a 16×16 transporter‑erector‑launcher (TEL) based on the MZKT‑79221 chassis. The system features measures intended to improve survivability and penetration against missile defenses. Specific warhead configurations and yields are not officially disclosed; open sources commonly assess multiple reentry vehicles per missile. The RS‑24 entered service in 2010; serial deployment across RVSN units has continued into the 2020s.
Permanent Infrastructure and Technical Facilities
Road‑mobile RVSN divisions maintain a permanent deployment point (garrison) with climate‑controlled shelters/garages for TELs and support vehicles, maintenance workshops, fuel and materiel storage, training buildings, and security perimeters. A divisional technical position typically supports missile acceptance, check‑out, and maintenance activities, with rail access for deliveries from manufacturing facilities. Within the 7th Guards Missile Division, these functions are supported by the 1501st Repair and Technical Base (military unit 33787) and other divisional technical elements. Exact internal layouts, capacity figures, and sensitive equipment configurations are not publicly released.
Mobility, Dispersal, and Operating Patterns
Road‑mobile RS‑24 Yars regiments are designed to disperse from garrison to prepared field positions and patrol routes to enhance survivability. Operations include movement along pre‑surveyed routes, concealment in wooded terrain, use of decoys and camouflage, and employment of hardened or concealed parking locations. The 509th Separate Engineer‑Sapper Battalion (military unit 03071) supports mobility and survivability by conducting route reconnaissance and preparation, obstacle reduction, rapid fortification, camouflage, and field infrastructure tasks. Specific patrol routes, field positions, and readiness postures are not disclosed publicly.
Command, Control, and Communications
The 281st Communications Center (military unit 03394) provides the division’s communications backbone, supporting redundant and secure connectivity for command and control across fixed sites and mobile elements. RVSN communications employ layered wired and wireless means, including terrestrial, radio, and satellite channels, integrated into national‑level strategic command‑and‑control architectures. Technical specifics of encryption, frequency plans, network topology, and fail‑safe procedures are not published.
Engineering and Survivability Support
The 509th Separate Engineer‑Sapper Battalion (military unit 03071) provides specialized engineering capabilities essential for road‑mobile ICBM operations, including: route preparation and maintenance; obstacle breaching and clearance; rapid construction of field shelters, revetments, and protective positions; camouflage, concealment, and deception (CCD); and limited field fortification and counter‑mobility tasks. Equipment holdings, exact personnel numbers, and detailed task organization are not publicly disclosed.
Technical Maintenance and Warhead Support
The 1501st Repair and Technical Base (military unit 33787) provides technical maintenance, inspection, and support for missile systems and associated equipment within the division. In the Russian system, specialized nuclear warhead storage and handling are managed under strict national controls; specific procedures, storage locations, and configurations are classified and are not publicly released. Open sources do not provide verifiable details of the 1501st RTB’s internal layout, inventories, or warhead‑related activities.
Security and Access Control
RVSN garrisons employ layered physical security measures, including perimeter fencing, controlled access points, guard forces, surveillance systems, and rapid‑reaction elements. Mobile operations incorporate dedicated security detachments to protect columns, field sites, and command posts against sabotage and reconnaissance threats. Exact security force composition, numbers, response tactics, and sensor configurations at the 7th Guards Missile Division’s sites are not disclosed in public sources.
Training and Exercise Activity
RVSN divisions routinely conduct training cycles that include road‑mobile dispersal drills, field deployments, launcher survivability and concealment tasks, electronic warfare countermeasures training, and command‑post exercises. At the national level, strategic nuclear force readiness is periodically exercised in events commonly referred to as Grom (Thunder). Official releases and media reporting indicate that RS‑24 Yars regiments across multiple divisions—including those in western Russia—regularly participate in such activities. Specific training schedules, alert rates, and evaluative outcomes for the 7th Guards Missile Division are not publicly released.
Logistics and Transportation Connectivity
The Vypolzovo/Bologoye area is served by the Oktyabrskaya (Moscow–Saint Petersburg) railway and the M10 highway corridor, facilitating heavy equipment transport and supply flow. RVSN divisions typically maintain rail‑served technical positions for missile acceptance and heavy materiel movement. Within the division, logistics elements support fuel, spares, tires, specialist equipment, and field sustainment for road‑mobile operations. Detailed shipment schedules, railhead capacities, and stock levels are not available in open sources.
Treaty and Verification Context
Under the 2011 New START Treaty, Russian mobile ICBMs and associated launchers are accountable items; however, on 21 February 2023 the Russian Federation announced a suspension of its participation in New START. As of 2025, bilateral on‑site inspections and routine treaty data exchanges have not been conducted, and public visibility of site‑specific inventories is limited. No public, treaty‑derived data specific to the 7th Guards Missile Division’s current launcher or warhead counts are available.
Known Public Identifiers and Equipment
Units and designations provided: 7th Guards Missile Division – military unit 14245; 41st Missile Regiment – military unit 14264, equipped with RS‑24 Yars (road‑mobile); 510th Missile Regiment – military unit 52642, equipped with RS‑24 Yars (road‑mobile); 281st Communications Center – military unit 03394; 509th Separate Engineer‑Sapper Battalion – military unit 03071; 1501st Repair and Technical Base – military unit 33787. The RS‑24 Yars road‑mobile system uses a transporter‑erector‑launcher on an MZKT‑79221 16×16 chassis. Additional technical indices and precise internal unit structures are not officially disclosed.
Information Gaps and Classification Caveats
The following details are not publicly available or are classified and therefore are not provided: precise geographic coordinates and internal layouts of the division’s facilities; current launcher counts per regiment and the total number of deployed missiles; exact warhead loadings and yields for RS‑24 Yars at this division; patrol routes, dispersal sites, and alert procedures; security force composition and response tactics; and any warhead storage specifics or procedures associated with the 1501st Repair and Technical Base. Where general characteristics are described, they reflect widely reported features of RVSN road‑mobile ICBM operations and not sensitive, site‑unique disclosures.