Interview with Colonel General Vladimir YAKOVLEV, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, for the magazine "Orientir"

The date of birth of the Strategic Missile Forces is officially considered to be December 17, 1959. On this day, the Central Committee of the CPSU decided to create a new type of Armed Forces. True rocket scientists can give other points of reference and will be right in their own way. That's not the point, though. And the fact that, despite the relative youth, the minimum number of personnel and low financial costs in comparison with other types of armed forces, our Missile Forces remain the most reliable guarantor of the country's security, a truly strategic argument of a great power.

Colonel General Vladimir Nikolaevich Yakovlev was born on August 17, 1954, in Kalinin (now Tver). In 1971, he enrolled in the Kharkiv Higher Military Command and Engineering School named after Marshal of the Soviet Union N.I. Krylov, from which he graduated with honors in 1976.

In 1985, he graduated with a gold medal from the Command Department of the F.E. Dzerzhinsky Military Academy. In 1999, he graduated with honors from the Academy of the General Staff. He is a Candidate of Military Sciences and a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences.

He went through all the stages of his military career in the Strategic Missile Forces, including serving as commander of a missile regiment, a missile division, chief of staff of a missile army, commander of a missile army, and chief of staff of the Strategic Missile Forces.

In late June 1997, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Missile Forces by a decree of the President of the Russian Federation.

- Vladimir Nikolaevich, more than a year ago, the integration of the Strategic Missile Forces into the Military Space Forces and the Missile and Space Defense Forces was completed. What are the integrated Strategic Missile Forces at this stage?

- The unification of strike, information, and support systems, i.e., the Strategic Missile Forces, the Missile and Space Defense Forces, and the Aerospace Forces, has allowed for a nearly 25% increase in the combat capabilities of the unified branch of the Armed Forces, while simultaneously optimizing its organizational structure and reducing overall maintenance costs.

The Strategic Missile Forces are tasked with solving three interrelated problems. First, they are responsible for destroying strategic targets that form the basis of the enemy's military and economic capabilities using nuclear missiles. Second, they are tasked with warning the Supreme High Command about missile and space attacks, maintaining continuous control over outer space, destroying enemy ballistic missiles that target Moscow, and providing information support for the operations and combat activities of the Armed Forces.

To carry out its tasks, the Strategic Missile Forces includes:

- military administration bodies;

- a strike force, which includes formations and units armed with strategic missile systems;

- unification and connection of missile and space defense forces;

- military units and institutions for launching and managing spacecraft;

- institutions, enterprises, research organizations, and higher education institutions.

These are the main tasks and structure of the Strategic Missile Forces today.

- We are standing on the threshold of the 21st century. Unfortunately, the current geopolitical situation does not bode well for the future. What measures are being planned and implemented in the Strategic Missile Forces to adequately respond to the challenges of the time?

- We have developed program directions for the long-term development of the armed forces. These directions take into account the existing economic realities and possible changes in the period from 2005 to 2010. Our calculations are based on the guidelines approved by the President of the Russian Federation as key stages of military reform for the period up to 2005 and beyond. First of all, we are guided by the Concept of State Policy on Military Construction and the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated November 10, 1998, which determined the directions for the future development of nuclear deterrence forces and means.

Today, we see two main priorities in maintaining and developing the strategic missile complex group. The first priority is the completion of the development and deployment of the Topol-M stationary and mobile missile systems. As you know, the first missile regiment equipped with this system was put on combat duty last December. The modernization of another missile regiment is nearing completion. This creates a foundation for the formation of a promising strike force based on modern missile systems, albeit at a slow but tangible pace.

And the second priority. This is the maximum extension of the service life of existing missile systems. It is necessary as a forced measure in the current conditions.

Now, let's talk about the space component of the Missile Forces. The main focus here is to maintain the orbital group at a level that allows us to solve the current and future challenges. It is planned to have 50 to 80 military and dual-use spacecraft in the group.

In addition, we are going to fundamentally change the composition of the launch vehicles and the capabilities of the ground-based launch and control infrastructure for spacecraft. The goal is to reduce the number of types of launch vehicles used by almost two times by 2005.

These are our long-term plans.

- Vladimir Nikolaevich, the media is persistently repeating the thesis that Russia has lost its position in the field of space exploration. Do you agree with this point of view?

- Such conversations are multiplying because space is becoming a sphere that provides strategic superiority on the planet. My opinion is that Russia has had and still has a powerful space potential. However, in recent years, this potential has been significantly weakened. Unfortunately, this is a fact. The worst part is that this trend continues to intensify.

Nevertheless, a comparison of the levels of development of space weapons shows that Russia still maintains approximate parity with the United States in terms of the range of tasks it can solve. However, there are gaps in the levels of task resolution, such as the duration of active spacecraft in orbit, the capacity of space communication, and the information content and frequency of space reconnaissance.

This lag is primarily due to the disparity in funding for military space programs in Russia and the United States.

The ratio of military space spending in Russia's and the United States' defense budgets is approximately 1:3, with the United States' spending steadily increasing and ours, unfortunately, decreasing.

Nevertheless, despite the severe financial constraints, a number of constructive measures have been taken to ensure Russia's long-term guaranteed access to outer space. Therefore, I would not rush to conclude that Russia has lost its position in space exploration.

- Comrade Colonel General, many analysts today claim that the danger of a nuclear war and a missile attack on Russia is negligible. What then is the reason for the need for the expensive functioning of the missile warning system (MWS) today?

It would be naive to believe that the world's accumulated nuclear missile capabilities exist solely to account for the potential capabilities of the states that possess them.

Given the fact that Russia is a nuclear power, it is safe to say that the cost of a misguided nuclear retaliatory strike is much higher in any dimension than the cost of maintaining a functional missile warning system.

Let's not forget that the Early Warning System not only provides information for the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to make decisions, but also accurately identifies the aggressor state, the number of launched and attacking missiles, and the areas where the warheads land. Whether we like it or not, security is an expensive endeavor.

By building a kind of information shield for our defense, we can both discuss the issues of strategic arms reduction that are crucial for all of humanity, and pursue an active state policy in difficult financial and economic conditions. The PRN system is an information blockade against the use of destructive force.

As for assessing the danger of a nuclear conflict, it is more appropriate to rely on existing realities rather than emotional conclusions. These realities include a significant number of land- and sea-based ballistic missiles on active duty in the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and France.

In addition, the PRN system has a purely peaceful profession, as radar information about the orbital parameters of space objects provides solutions to space navigation tasks. In the context of increasing man-made pollution of outer space, it is difficult to overestimate the role of the PRN system in solving global problems.

I would also like to add that the functioning of complex systems is subject to certain laws. One of these laws is continuity, which determines the specified reliability indicators. Therefore, continuous operation is an objective requirement for the system.

- Vladimir Nikolaevich, is the SPC capable of performing its tasks at the required level today?

- The ground-based early warning system is combat-ready and capable of fulfilling its assigned tasks.

At the same time, the state of the ground-based early warning system is not the best. The problems of maintaining combat readiness are primarily related to the fact that our radars are on the verge of running out of technical resources.

- There is a lot of talk and writing about the new Topol-M missile system, which is stationed in the Saratov region. According to some reports, this ballistic missile is capable of overcoming any missile defense system. Does this mean that Russia has gained an advantage over other nuclear powers with the Topol-M, or that it can now engage in dialogue with NATO on an equal footing?

- The Topol-M missile system is the first development of a strategic missile system in the history of Russian rocket engineering, carried out exclusively by Russian cooperation. This system incorporates all of Russia's existing scientific and technological advancements and achievements in the field of rocket engineering. Indeed, everything related to its tactical and technical characteristics is marked with the term "for the first time," and not only in Russia.

I have no doubt that by the end of 1999, another missile regiment equipped with modern Topol-M missile systems will be placed on combat duty in Russia. Today, when the production of missiles has been established, we can already say that 20 more intercontinental ballistic missiles are planned to be adopted next year. We could even count on 30 missiles. However, this issue depends entirely on the 2000 federal budget and the implementation of the Law on Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces.

By the way, the new regiment, equipped with Topol-M missile systems, will be placed on combat duty again at the Tatishchevo unit. It was here that the first 10 Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles were deployed by the Strategic Missile Forces in 1998.

As for the "equal dialogue," the relationship between Russia and the United States in the field of nuclear deterrence has unique features. As is well known, the two nuclear superpowers, which have been threatening each other with complete annihilation for several decades, have achieved a consistent reduction in their nuclear forces through negotiations and the reduction of strategic offensive weapons, and have implemented a system of mutual control that has not been achieved by traditional allies of these countries.

In the current circumstances, the requirements for strategic nuclear forces are also changing. There should be fewer of them, both in terms of overall quantity and types, but the level of technical sophistication and the ability to threaten selective destruction and overcome missile defense systems, which Russia and the United States will no longer be able to monopolize for long, should increase. In this regard, the Topol-M missile system is highly representative. We can justifiably associate our future with it.

- Thank you for the conversation, Vladimir Nikolaevich. On behalf of the Strategic Missile Forces, we wish you and your troops a successful 40th anniversary.