Russia has completed the transformation to the Iskander-M missile system in Kaliningrad, according to Russian defense blog bmpd. That happened when the 152nd Missile Brigade officially received the modern missile at a ceremony last Monday to replace the old Tochka-U missiles (NATO name SS-21 Scarab).
Russia is modernizing its fleet of tactical ballistic missiles at a pace of about two brigades per year, and the Ministry of Defense has announced that the process will be completed in 2020. In fact, 11 brigades already have the Iskander-M missile and only one still uses the Tochka-U (the 448th Missile Brigade in Kursk). However, Russia is not only replacing old equipment but also forming new brigades, most lately in June when a missile brigade was established in the Eastern Military District.
So while Russia has 12 brigades with tactical ballistic missiles today, that number may increase to 17 over the next three years. Of course one of those brigades could also be placed in Kaliningrad.
Leave a Reply