Main Missile and Artillery Directorate

Main Missile and Artillery Directorate
Name	Main Missile and Artillery Directorate
Native name	Главное ракетно-артиллерийское управление
Formation	1918
Jurisdiction	Russian Armed Forces
Headquarters	Moscow
Chief1 name	(see article)
Website	(internal)

Main Missile and Artillery Directorate The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate is a central administrative body responsible for missile and artillery policy, procurement, and technical support for armed forces, interacting with industrial firms, research institutes, and defense academies. It traces roots through Soviet-era organizations associated with the Russian Empire's ordnance services and evolved alongside organizations such as Red Army, Soviet Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence (Russia), Gorky Automobile Plant, and Tula Arms Plant; it has influenced programs linked to Kalashnikov Concern, Rosoboronexport, United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation, and design bureaus like KB Tochmash.

History

Formed amid post-Revolution reorganization following institutions like Imperial Russian Army and Soviet of People's Commissars, the directorate's lineage intersects with the development of ordnance work in World War I, Russian Civil War, and interwar rearmament under figures connected to Sergei Ordzhonikidze and technical leadership drawn from Moscow State Technical University. During World War II it coordinated efforts comparable to entities that collaborated with Krasnaya Zvezda-era commands and industrial complexes such as Uralvagonzavod and Sverdlovsk Railway Car Building Plant. Cold War-era activities linked it to programs alongside NATO developments, Strategic Rocket Forces, and research from institutes like Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology; post-Soviet reforms involved interaction with State Duma legislation and consolidation under Ministry of Defence (Russia) restructurings.

Organization and Structure

The directorate comprises departments reflecting technical, procurement, and testing functions, coordinating with academic bodies such as Bauman Moscow State Technical University and think tanks like Russian Academy of Sciences institutes. It works with regional commands exemplified by Western Military District, Eastern Military District, Southern Military District, and logistical centers associated with Sevastopol and Kaliningrad Oblast. Leadership roles have interfaced with personnel from Frunze Military Academy and liaison elements connected to enterprises including Tula State Museum of Weapons and Izhevsk Mechanical Plant.

Functions and Responsibilities

Mandates include requirements-setting for systems developed by firms such as Tactical Missiles Corporation, Almaz-Antey, and NPO Mashinostroyeniya, oversight of trials at ranges linked to Kapustin Yar and Plesetsk Cosmodrome, and maintenance doctrines influenced by studies from Military Academy of the General Staff. It administers standards used by testing facilities associated with Nizhny Novgorod plants, issues directives that affect export processes handled by Rosoboronexport, and coordinates modernization pathways aligned with programs referenced by State Armament Program planning.

Major Programs and Projects

Programs include artillery modernization comparable to upgrades in systems like 2S19 Msta, rocket system development akin to BM-30 Smerch evolutions, and guided munitions efforts paralleling projects by KBP Instrument Design Bureau and Tactical Missiles Corporation. The directorate has overseen prototype testing that interacted with designers of S-300, S-400, and tactical systems influenced by work at Zlatoust Machine-Building Plant and collaborative projects involving Russian Helicopters for integration studies.

Equipment and Armaments

Equipment categories supervised include tube artillery exemplified by designs from Kirov Plant, multiple-launch rocket systems with lineage traceable to Katyusha, tactical missile systems related to Iskander, and anti-tank munitions often produced by Degtyaryov Plant. Ammunition programs coordinate with chemical and propellant research from VNIIEF and metallurgy contributions from Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works.

Notable Operations and Deployments

Operational oversight has extended to deployments during conflicts such as Soviet–Afghan War, actions involving units in Chechnya, and contingency planning relevant to engagements near Donetsk and Luhansk. The directorate's logistics and sustainment work supported force actions comparable to those executed by formations of the 1st Guards Tank Army and units modelled on Airborne Forces (Russia) operational concepts.

International Cooperation and Arms Control

The directorate engages in arms export coordination with Rosoboronexport and dialogues related to treaties like Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty contexts, while interacting with foreign partners from nations tied to procurement of systems alongside India, China, and states of the Middle East. It participates in technical exchanges resembling cooperation seen in forums such as Moscow Conference on International Security and liaises with international verification mechanisms linked to Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Category:Russian military staff units