Belarus location of nuclear weapons carrying Iskander missile systems is known

Thanks to the analysis of satellite images, it was possible to fix the location of the Belarusian Iskander missile tactical missile systems, which Minsk received from Moscow in February this year.

Given that these systems, along with Su-25 attack aircraft, which were also converted into de facto disposable nuclear bomb carriers together with Russia, are potential nuclear delivery vehicles, their location is quite important information.

And according to the Federation of American Scientists, which analysed the Maxar images, these OTRKs are based at a military base on the outskirts of Osipovychi, which is near Bobruisk. This is the permanent location of the 465th Missile Brigade (military unit 61732) of the Belarusian Armed Forces.

The construction of the hangars for the Iskander system began in October 2022 and was completed in April 2023. The image itself, which shows four launchers, one of which is open, as well as two, most likely, command and control vehicles 9C552, was taken on 4 July.

Also, according to analysts, this directly indicates the location of the nuclear charges for the Iskander - the 1405th Artillery Ammunition Base (military unit 42707), which is located just 10 km from the 465th Missile Brigade permanent location point in the village of Vyalikaya Garozha.

Ultimately, this means that Belarus has decided not to restore the central Soviet-era nuclear weapons storage base Gomel-30 in the village of  Zarechye [Zarechcha].

It was the one that met all the requirements for storing nuclear charges in terms of safety, but was abandoned and neglected.

At the same time, Gomel-30 is located only 73 km from the border with Ukraine, so the decision not to restore it is quite logical.

In contrast, the 1405th Artillery Ammunition Base and the 465th Missile Brigade's permanent location point are located about 200 km from the Ukrainian border, about 240 km from Lithuania, and 325 km from Poland. But in any case, this means that these locations are well within the range of tactical weapons.

For example, in 2022, Lithuania announced its intention to buy HIMARS, including ATACMS missiles. And Poland has an AGM-158A JASSM cruise missile with a range of 370 km in service with its own air force, while actively evaluating the JASSM-XR, which already has a range of 1900 km.