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Main Missile and Artillery Directorate

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"GRAU" redirects here. For other uses, see Grau (disambiguation).
Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (GRAU)
Гла́вное раке́тно-артиллери́йское управле́ние Министе́рства оборо́ны Росси́йской Федера́ции (ГРАУ Минобороны России)
GRAU emblem
Active1862–present
Current title from 1960
Country Russia
TypeCentral Military Authority
Part ofMinistry of Defense
Commanders
Current
commander		General-mayor Aleksey Volkov[citation needed]

The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Russian: Гла́вное раке́тно-артиллери́йское управле́ние Министе́рства оборо́ны Росси́йской Федера́ции, abbr. ГРАУ Миноборо́ны Росси́и, romanized: Glavnoye raketno-artilleriyskoye upravleniye Ministerstva oborony Rossiyskoy Federatsii, abbr. GRAU Minoborony Rossíi), commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (ГРАУ), is a department of the Ministry of Defence. It is subordinate to the Chief of Armament and Munition of the Russian Armed Forces, a vice-minister of defence.

The organization dates back to 1862 when it was established under the name Main Artillery Directorate (Главное артиллерийское управление, ГАУ, GAU). The "R" from "rockets" was added to the title from 19 November 1960.

The GRAU is responsible for assigning GRAU indices to Russian army ammunition and equipment.

As of April 2025, the Chief of the GRAU was General mayor Aleksey Volkov.[citation needed] He was appointed in May 2024 and succeeded Generál-leytenánt Nikolai Parshin (ru:Паршин, Николай Михайлович) who took office in mid-2012.

Building of storage depots

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On December 28, 1862, by order of the Minister of War No. 375, the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) of the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire was established. The GAU supervised the supply of the army not only with artillery guns and ammunition, but also with small arms, and also supervised the combat training and staffing of artillery units. State-owned military factories were subordinate to it. It was headed by a General–Feldtseykhmeyster, and in 1908 the position of Chief of the GAU was introduced.[1]

During the First World War the GAU played a key role in supplying the army with weapons and ammunition. During this period it was headed by General of Artillery Dmitry Kuzmin-Karavaev (ru:Kuzmin-Karavaev, Dmitry Dmitrievich) (1909-May 1915) and General of Artillery Alexey Manikovsky (May 1915 - June 1918).[2]

In December 1917, in connection with the October Revolution and the final collapse of the Imperial Guard, Russian Imperial Army, Russian Imperial Navy and so on, the GAU was reorganized into the Artillery Directorate. It continued its work. No fundamental changes were made to it.[3] On October 15, 1918, the position of Inspector of Artillery was established for the leadership and management of artillery at the headquarters of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic. Since August 1921, the position was renamed Chief of Artillery of the Red Army. The same year, the Artillery Directorate became the Main Artillery Directorate. The Inspector of Artillery, in accordance with his duties, supervised the combat activity of the Red Army artillery, the creation of new artillery formations, the recruitment of personnel, and the preparation of key documents concerning the development of artillery. The total number of employees was 734.

From June 1922 to 1924, the former General-Lieutenant, Red Commander (Kraskom) Georgi Sheideman (ru:Шейдеман, Георгий Михайлович) led the artillery efforts.

The number of guns and mortars available to the troops rose from 10,700 in 1932, to 34,000 by the beginning of the Second World War, in 1939.

"The central warehouses of the GAU, as a rule, were of the 1st category. In the military districts there were warehouses of all categories, but warehouses of the 3rd and 4th categories prevailed. In 1940, all warehouses that had equipment and assembly shops and turned into large military production enterprises were renamed bases."

"The most intensive construction of central ammunition depots was noted in the third five-year plan (1938-1940), when 13 warehouses with a design storage capacity of 3,000 wagons of ammunition each were built and continued. Under favourable conditions, the construction of such a warehouse was completed within four years."

"Depending on the storage capacity and the availability of production workshops, all artillery depots were divided into 4 categories, as a rule, according to operational capacity: a) warehouses of the 1st category, which included production workshops and storage capacities of up to 5000 wagons of cargo; b) warehouses of the 2nd category had storage capacities of 700 and more wagons; c) warehouses of the 3rd category - up to 500 wagons of cargo, respectively; d) warehouses of the 4th category - up to 200 wagons of cargo, respectively."

"The average capacity of the central warehouse (base) for the specified period increased from 1800 to 2100 wagons, and the average capacity of the warehouse of district subordination decreased from 610 to 415 wagons. The construction of low-power district depots was due to the need to disperse mobilization stocks of ammunition, which, as a result of their advancement to the state border, became more vulnerable to air strikes."[4]

There were at least 33 central weapons/ammunition bases in five districts (Moscow, OrVO, KhaVO, Volga Military District, and the Ural Military District of the European part of the USSR at the beginning of the German Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion. The 357th Central base of depots and Ammunition was located in Yuski (now in Udmurtia).

Marshal of Artillery Nikolai Yakovlev became head of the GAU at the beginning of the invasion, and held the post throughout the war.

Materiel shortages during the Battle of Moscow in 1941 forced the introduction of strict rationing of ammunition supply at the Front level, and the centralization of munitions storage and distribution in the Central Bases of the People's Commissariat for Defence (NKO).[5]

Larger storage and manufacturing sites, arsenals began to appear after the end of the Second World War. The 47th Arsenal at Tsvetokha in the Slavuta Raion of the Khmelnytsky Oblast was established in 1945. Military Depot No. 61 of the NKO was formed on May 13, 1938, at Lozovaya in Kharkiv Oblast, and on August 1, 1960 it was transformed into the 61st Arsenal of the Ministry of Defence. It was part of GRAU during the 1980s.[6]

Ammunition depots were established for the Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War. From August 8-10, 1988, there were fires and explosions in the 3704th Ammunition Depot (в/ч 77824 - 3704 артиллерийский склад вооружения и боеприпасов) of the 40th Army (Soviet Union), located in the Kelgai Valley near Puli Khumri.[7] The detonation of the explosives storage facility, according to eyewitnesses, resembled a nuclear one with the appearance of a characteristic "mushroom cloud". Eight soldiers and one civilian cook may have been killed, with others wounded. Western sources reported that the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union) denied there had been any casualties.[8]

After the declaration of independence of Ukraine, the 61st Arsenal at Lozovaya with a technical area of 247 hectares and a total area of 488.4 hectares was transferred to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. On August 27, 2008, a fire broke out at the arsenal, which led to the explosions of shells.

There has been large-scale use of ammunition since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has led to much of the Soviet-era ammunition being used up.[9]

Arsenals

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Satellite imagery of the 63rd Arsenal of the GRAU at Lipetsk
Main article: Arsenals of the Russian Armed Forces

Arsenals of the GRAU, according to Kommersant-Vlast in 2005, included the 53rd at Dzerzhinsk, Nizhniy Novogorod Oblast, the 55th in the Sklad-40 microraion at Rzhev, the 60th at Kaluga, the 63rd at Lipetsk, the 75th at Serpukhov south of Moscow, the 97th at Skolin and the 107th at Toropets, all six in the Moscow Military District.[10] The 5th at Alatyr, Chuvash Republic, the 80th Arsenal at Gagarskiy, the 103rd Arsenal at Saransk, Mordovia,[11] and the 116th at Krasno-Oktyabrskiy were all in the Volga–Urals Military District.[12]

Fires and explosions

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Since 2009, there have been a number of fires and explosions at GRAU ammunition storage depots.

  • A major series of explosions occurred at an arms depot of the 31st Arsenal of the Caspian Flotilla near Ulyanovsk on 13 November 2009. At least two people were killed in the explosion and 43 were rescued from a bomb shelter where they had taken refuge.[13]
  • On December 26, 2013, an Antonov An-12B transport aircraft of the Irkut company was flying along the route Novosibirsk - Irkutsk, but when landing, it crashed onto a warehouse of the 109th Arsenal GRAU located near the Irkutsk Northwest Airport (Siberian Military District).[15] All nine people on board were killed - six crew members and three passengers.
  • Toropets depot explosions – On the night of 17–18 September 2024, during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Ukraine launched a drone attack on the GRAU ammunition depot in Toropets, causing a massive series of explosions and fires while damaging much of the town.[20][21] The attack resulted in an earthquake-magnitude blast, and NASA satellites detected the resulting fires over an area of approximately 13 km2 (5 sq mi).[22] The blast wave spread up to 200 mi (320 km) and was estimated to be consistent with 200–240 tonnes of TNT (840–1,000 GJ) of high-explosives detonating.[23][22][24] The Security Service of Ukraine claimed that "Iskander, Tochka and KAB missiles" were stored at the facility.[24] Russian officials reported that 13 people had been injured and that an evacuation of the area had been ordered.[25]
  • On 21 September 2024 both the 23rd Arsenal GRAU near Oktyabrsky and the 719th Artillery Ammunition Depot near Tikhoretsk[26] caught fire due to drone attacks. The 23rd Arsenal is located 16 km south of Toropets, where the GRAU arsenal was still on fire from the attack three days prior.[27]
  • On 9 October 2024 the ammunition storage area at the 67th Arsenal GRAU (V/Ch 55443-BK (41), former V/Ch 92919) near Karachev, located in Bryansk Oblast, approximately 114 km from the Ukrainian border, was attacked by Ukrainian drones. Fires, explosions and continuous detonations for hours resulted, but initial battle damage assessment has not yet been made by independent military analysts.[28][29] Two ammunition storage warehouses were destroyed.[30]
  • On 20 November 2024 the 13th Arsenal located at Kotovo, Novgorod Oblast was attacked by Ukrainian drones and Kotovo residents were evacuated to nearby Okulovka as a precaution.[31]
  • On 22nd April 2025, the 51st arsenal located at Barsovo, Vladimir Oblast suffered an explosion followed by fires[32] and 450 residents[33] were evacuated from nearby towns.[34]
  • Extensive fire in and near the 102nd GRAU Arsenal at Pugachevo on 16 May 2018
    Extensive fire in and near the 102nd GRAU Arsenal at Pugachevo on 16 May 2018
  • Wildfire enveloping open storage at Military Unit Number 55443 near Zheltukhino on 7 October 2020
    Wildfire enveloping open storage at Military Unit Number 55443 near Zheltukhino on 7 October 2020
  • Fire around the railroad tracks at the entrance to the 93rd GRAU arsenal near Kuzhenkino on 4 September 2024
    Fire around the railroad tracks at the entrance to the 93rd GRAU arsenal near Kuzhenkino on 4 September 2024
  • Extensive fire in 23rd arsenal south of Toropets with still ongoing fire at 107th arsenal on 21 September 2024
    Extensive fire in 23rd arsenal south of Toropets with still ongoing fire at 107th arsenal on 21 September 2024
  • Extensive fire in 719th arsenal northwest of Tikhoretsk, along with fires at the Tikhoretsk air base and rail yard on 21 September 2024
    Extensive fire in 719th arsenal northwest of Tikhoretsk, along with fires at the Tikhoretsk air base and rail yard on 21 September 2024
  • Extensive fire in the 51st arsenal near Barsovo on 22 April 2025
    Extensive fire in the 51st arsenal near Barsovo on 22 April 2025

Chiefs of the GRAU, 1984-present

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Current GRAU indices

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Russian Armed Forces
Staff
Services (vid)
Independent troops (rod)
Special operations force (sof)
Other troops
Military districts
History of the Russian military

GRAU indices are of the form ⟨number⟩ ⟨letter⟩ ⟨number⟩, sometimes with a further suffix ⟨letter⟩ ⟨number⟩. They may be followed by a specially assigned codename. For example "2 S 19  Msta-S", the 2S19 Msta self-propelled howitzer, has the index 2S19, without suffix; Msta-S is the codename.

Misconceptions

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Several common misconceptions surround the scope and originating body of these indices. The GRAU designation is not an industrial designation, nor is it assigned by the design bureau. In addition to its GRAU designation, a given piece of equipment could have a design name, an industrial name and a service designation.

For example, one of the surface-to-air missiles in the S-25 Berkut air defense system had at least four domestic designations:

  • design name: La-205
  • GRAU index: 5V7
  • industry name: Product 205 (Izdeliye 205)
  • Soviet military designation: V-300

Some Soviet general-purpose bombs bore a designation that looked confusingly similar to GRAU.[note 1]

Designation scheme

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The first part of a GRAU index is a number indicating which of the several main categories of equipment a given item belongs to. The second part, a Cyrillic character, indicates the subcategory. The third part, a number, indicates the specific model. The optional suffix can be used to differentiate variants of the same model.

1 (Radio and electronics equipment)

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2 (Artillery systems)

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3 (Army and naval missiles)

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4 (Naval missiles and army equipment (munitions, reactive armour, etc.))

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5 (Air defense equipment)

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  • 5Ae: Computers (5Ae26, a specialized multi-CPU computer with a performance of 1.5 MIPS)
  • 5B: Surface-to-air missile warheads (5B18, the warhead for the S-125's V-601 missile)
  • 5P: Surface-to-air missile launchers (5P75, the four-missile launcher for the S-125 air defense system)
  • 5V: Surface-to-air missiles (5V55, SAM for S-300 air defense system)
  • 5Ya: Surface-to-air missiles (5Ya23, a SAM for the S-75 air defense system)
  • 5#
* 51T6 (SH-11/ABM-4 Gorgone), an exoatmospheric anti-ballistic missile interceptor for the A-135 air defense system
* 53T6 (SH-08/ABM-3 Gazelle), an endoatmospheric interceptor for A-135 air defense system

6 (Firearms, air defense equipment)

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7 (Firearm munitions)

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Exceptions
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  • 71Kh6: the US-KMO Prognoz-2 early warning system satellite
  • 73N6 Baikal-1: an automated air defense command and control system
  • 75E6 Parol-3: the IFF interrogator for the S-75M and S-125
  • 76N6: a low-altitude target detector radar

8 (Army missiles and rocketry)

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9 (Army missiles, UAVs)

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10 (Equipment)

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  • 10P: Sights (10P19, the PGO-7V sight for RPG-7V grenade launcher)
  • 10R: Radios (10R30 Karat-2, a radio transmitter)

11 (Rocketry and associated equipment)

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14 (Rocketry and associated equipment)

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  • 14A: Rockets (14A15, is the "Soyuz-2-1v")
  • 14D: Rocket engines (14D30, the "Briz" booster's S5.98M liquid fuel engine)
  • 14F: Satellites (14F10, the IS-MU Naryad anti-satellite weapon)
  • 14I: Ground equipment (14I02, the ground equipment for the "Briz" booster's 8P882 system)
  • 14P: Ground equipment (14P72, the service system for the "Briz" booster)
  • 14S: Boosters (14S12, the "Briz" booster)
  • 14T: Ground equipment (14T81, the storage equipment for the "Briz" booster)

15 (Strategic Missile Forces equipment)

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17 (Rocketry and associated equipment)

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  • 17D: Misc. rocket engines (17D58Ae, the stabilization and orientation engine of the "Briz-M" booster)
  • 17F: Satellites (17F15 Raduga-1, a telecommunications satellite)
  • 17K: Space-based systems (17K114, a space-based reconnaissance and targeting system)
  • 17P: Ground equipment (17P31, the start system for 11K25)
  • 17S: Rocket stages (17S40, Unit D of the Proton launcher)
  • 17U: Ground equipment (17U551, the "Briz-M" booster testing system)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ For example, the FAB-250sch entered service in 1944 with the designation 7-F-334, which was not assigned by GRAU.

References

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  1. ^ "Main Artillery Directorate".
  2. ^ [1] 13.2. 1909 - 24.5.1915, 24.5. 1915 - 15.6.1918
  3. ^ Караулов 2000.
  4. ^ "Artillery supply in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45", Moscow-Tula, GAU Publishing House, 1977, via https://pikabu.ru/story/zabroshennaya_43ya_tsentralnaya_artilleriyskaya_baza_boepripasov_grau_mo_rf_kazan_chast_4_dovoennaya_voennaya_i_poslevoennaya_10733667
  5. ^ Davie 2024.
  6. ^ "The military assures that ammunition in Lozova does not pose a threat". 2009-08-08.; Feskov et al 2013, 297.
  7. ^ https://rsva-ural.ru/library/mbook.php?id=1344 and ru:Взрывы_артиллерийского_склада_в_Пули-Хумри
  8. ^ A team of authors. Volume 12. Chapter III "Soviet military chronology" // Soviet Armed Forces Review Annual / Ed. George M. Mellinger. — Academic International Press, 1993. — P. 60.
  9. ^ "Soviet warehouses with shells in the Russian Federation are empty".
  10. ^ "107th arsenal GRAU".
  11. ^ "История". 21 May 2018.
  12. ^ Kommersant 2005.
  13. ^ "Major fire at Russia arms depot". 13 November 2009.
  14. ^ Russian Defense Policy, “The Latest Arsenal Fire,” https://russiandefpolicy.com/2020/10/13/the-latest-arsenal-fire/ (2020-10-13); https://russiandefpolicy.com/2011/06/26/arsenal-explosion-blows-up-a-couple-careers/
  15. ^ Описание катастрофы на Aviation Safety Network; Катастрофа Ан-12 Корпорации Иркут в районе а/п Иркутск-2 (борт 12162), 26 декабря 2013 года.
  16. ^ "Минобороны РФ окажет помощь в ремонте жилых домов и инфраструктуры в военном городке, пострадавшем при пожаре на арсенале в Рязанской области -". www.militarynews.ru. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  17. ^ "The Latest Arsenal Fire". Russian Defense Policy. 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  18. ^ "Sabotage action on the railway of military unit 55443 VD Barsovo (51th Arsenal of the Main rocket-artillery department of Russian Defense ministry) | Anarcho-Communists Combat Organization".
  19. ^ "93-й Арсенал, в\ч 55443-ТД" [93rd Arsenal, military unit 55443-TD]. wikimapia.org (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-10-19.
  20. ^ Lukiv, Jaroslav. "Russia Tver region orders evacuation after Ukrainian drone attack". BBC. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  21. ^ "Drone Attack On Arms Depot Forces Evacuations In Russia's Tver Region". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  22. ^ a b Cole, Brendan (19 September 2024). "Russian Ammo Depot 1.8 Kiloton Blast May Be 'Biggest Single Event' in War". Newsweek. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  23. ^ Lidia Kelly; Lucy Papachristou (18 September 2024). "Ukrainian drone attack triggersi earthquake-sized blast at arsenal in Russia's Tver region". Reuters.
  24. ^ a b Smith, Alexander (2024-09-18). "Ukrainian drone attack triggers huge blasts at Russian ammo depot". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  25. ^ Ukraine drone attack in Russia sparks fire. BBC, 18 September 2024
  26. ^ https://frontelligence.substack.com/p/counting-the-rounds-north-korean
  27. ^ "Another GRAU Arsenal Covering a Huge Area and Ammunition Base with North Korean Shells Destroyed". en.defence-ua.com. 2024-09-21. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  28. ^ Ukraine Goes After Russia's North Korean Arms Stockpiles, Newsweek, 9 October 2024.
  29. ^ Ukrainian Drone Strike Reportedly Hits Bryansk Ammo Depot Storing N. Korean Weapons, Kyiv Post, 9 October 2024.
  30. ^ high-resolution @planet satellite image taken on Oct. 17th arrived, confirming that two ammunition storage buildings were destroyed as a result of the strike, 18 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Village in Northwestern Russia Evacuated After Ukrainian Drones Attack Missile Depot". The Moscow Times. 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  32. ^ https://www.lindependant.fr/2025/04/22/il-abritait-des-obus-dartillerie-des-roquettes-pour-mlrs-ou-encore-des-missiles-tactiques-importante-explosion-dans-lun-des-plus-grands-depots-de-12651892.php
  33. ^ Léo Pierre (24 April 2025). "Vidéo: plusieurs explosions massives détruisent un entrepôt de munitions russe, Moscou évoque un accident". Slate.
  34. ^ "Russian ammo depot, reportedly holding 264,000 tons of munitions, obliterated near Moscow". Euromaidan Press. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 23 April 2025.

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Further reading

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