Missiles in the shadow of the USSR: How Post-Soviet states built their arsenal

2026-02-16 - 13:55

From SCUDs and Tochkas to Iskanders and drones, post-Soviet states reshape their arsenals while balancing legacy and new tech The dissolution of the Soviet Union entailed not only the redrawing of political borders, but also the redistribution of one of the most extensive and technologically sophisticated missile infrastructures ever assembled. Across the newly independent states, missile brigades, launch platforms, storage facilities, airbases, and elements of an integrated military-industrial system remained in place, embedded within national territories that had only just acquired sovereignty. This overview examines the development of military missile technologies and long-range missile systems in the former Soviet republics, excluding Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic states (which were covered in previous installments of this series). The trajectory of these programs was shaped decisively by the legacy of the Soviet armed forces, whose units, logistical networks, and technical personnel were stationed across the republics at the time of the USSR’s dissolution. Read more Rockets from Russia: Inside Moscow’s deadliest arsenal yet The inherited infrastructure, doctrinal frameworks, and maintenance capacities formed the structural foundation upon which subsequent national missile capabilities were constructed. In the sphere of strategic and nuclear armaments on the territories of what became the Commonwealth of Independent States, the reorganization process followed a clear and coordinated pattern. Beginning in the spring of 1991 and continuing over the next several years, nuclear warheads assigned to front-line missile systems, air defense complexes, and strategic delivery vehicles were systematically removed. Strategic missile formations stationed in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus were withdrawn. But the consolidation of nuclear assets did not eliminate missile capabilities from