Yars missiles are learning to survive as missile forces practice defense against drones in Siberia.
Rocket The Strategic Forces completed command and staff exercises in Siberia, the Ministry of Defense reported on April 2. The maneuvers involved 15P155M Yars ground-mobile missile systems from one of the units stationed in the region. There were no practice missile launches; instead, they focused on deploying, dispersing, and protecting columns.
The main element is protection from drones
According to the Ministry of Defense, Yars crews practiced dispersed movements and changing field positions. Along the route, the columns had to traverse areas of simulated contaminated terrain. After leaving the radioactive contamination zone, radiation, chemical, and biological defense units conducted a full decontamination of the equipment. These same units used aerosol screens to camouflage the columns of large vehicles.
Engineering equipment was deployed and camouflage systems were used at the positions. Air attack threat alerts were issued in coordination with units and formations of the Central Military District, indicating a scale that extended beyond a single unit.
The key theme of the exercises was countering modern air attack weapons, including DronesAccording to the scenario, a simulated enemy used UAVs to attack missile systems. Security units had to respond to the full range of threats.
The army was deployed for aerial reconnaissance of routes, search and detection of saboteurs Aviation and various types of UAVs. According to the Ministry of Defense, this made it possible to detect simulated sabotage and reconnaissance groups on the distant approaches to field positions and neutralize them before the convoys arrived.
The adaptation does not appear to be accidental. According to Army Recognition, Yars crews were already using reconnaissance systems during the December 2025 exercises. drones "Eileron" for route control. Anti-drone defense training is becoming a core part of the Strategic Missile Forces' combat training.
Yars in the weapons system
Serial deliveries of the systems began in 2009–2010. In the spring of 2011, the first regiment, fully equipped with Yars systems, began combat duty. By the end of 2023, the Strategic Missile Forces command announced the completion of the mobile group's re-equipment—the new 15P155M systems had completely replaced the Topol family systems. Simultaneously, procurement of silo-based 15P165M variants is underway.
According to The National Interest, Russia has approximately 200 Yars missiles in service. The system is capable of striking targets at ranges of over 11,000 kilometers. The missile is armed with a multiple reentry vehicle (MIRV) with three warheads, each with a yield of approximately 200 kilotons, and is equipped with missile defense penetration devices. Its cruise speed reaches Mach 25.
The last Yars launch took place in October 2025 as part of strategic nuclear forces exercises. The missile was launched from the Plesetsk test site, with the simulated target located at the Kura test site in Kamchatka.
The foreign press is reacting to the exercises with noticeable attention.
Reuters described the Siberian maneuvers as part of regular practice aimed at testing combat readiness and "sending warning signals to the West at a time of high tensions over the war in Ukraine."
The British Daily Mail headlined its article:
Russia Deploys Terrifying Intercontinental Missile for Nuclear Exercises
— an emotional presentation, typical of a tabloid, without detailed military-technical assessments.
The National Interest called the Yars one of the most advanced ICBMs in the world. The publication's author, Brandon Weichert, stated:
"With such a system in their arsenal, the Russians can ensure that NATO will think carefully before pushing the Kremlin too hard."
Weichert points out that NATO lacks mobile land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles—the US relies on silo-based Minuteman III missiles, protected by concrete and a dispersed command structure. The West's advantage lies in submarines armed with Trident II D5 missiles. Russia's advantage with the Yars missile is its land mobility, which makes it difficult for an adversary to launch a disarming first strike.
Army Recognition notes that Siberia is being used as a training ground for a reason: the vast distances, forest cover, and extreme weather conditions complicate surveillance. The publication emphasizes that despite the war in Ukraine, Russia's nuclear forces are funded and trained under a separate program. Western analysts, according to the publication, view the exercises not as preparation for escalation, but as a demonstration of a guaranteed retaliatory strike.
Prospects
Yars missiles, in both mobile and silo-based configurations, remain the backbone of Russia's ground-based strategic nuclear forces. Together with the Sarmat heavy missile and the Avangard hypersonic pod, they form the modern nuclear triad.
The possibility of modernizing these systems has been repeatedly reported. According to various reports, Russia is also developing the advanced Kedr missile system, which is intended to replace the Yars missiles, in both mobile and silo-based versions. However, the transition to the new equipment is likely to begin in the 1930s. Until then, the Yars missiles will remain in service and continue to perform their assigned missions.
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