+380-673-888-888
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As of 2018 we are offering an absolutely unique and new USSR Strategic Rocket Forces Military Base Tour from Odessa with professional English speaking guide.
First question that everyone is asking sound something like that:
- What exactly makes this tour to USSR Strategic Forces Military Base so unique?.
In fact it is a very good question that should be asked in the case with this particular tour because:
- Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces Museum is located on ex-military base which is the only ex-military base with all equipment still remained in it's existence that you can visit.
Strategic Rocket Forces Museum in Pervomaysk is actually the ONLY museum of such kind in the world! During Soviet time this was a super secret military base with highly secret very limited access. In over 100 silos there were nuclear missiles aimed at USA. These days it is the biggest ex-military museum in ex-USSR located as we wrote earlier - directly at the place of super secret military base . You will be able to see and witness everything, touch and even press that super red button that was launching missiles in case of need. We absolutely guarantee that no other museum like this exists in the world!
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Tour Duration |
11 - 12 hours |
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Approximate Walking Distance |
3 km or 2 miles |
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Approximate Driving Distance |
550 km or 350 miles |
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Price of tour for up to 3 people |
from 229 EUR or 269 US Dollars |
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Price of tour for up to 6 people |
from 339 EUR or 399 US Dollars |
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Price of tour for up to 16 people |
from 499 EUR or 599 US Dollars |
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Visit to an underground command post * |
about 9 EUR or 10 US Dollars |
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Lunch in a local restaurant for 1 tourist *** |
about 9 EUR or 10 US Dollars |
After Soviet Union collapse in 1991 Ukraine had 3-rd largest nuclear weapon arsenal after Russia and United States. In 1994 official Kyiv confirmed it's intent of denuclearization and in 1994 Ukraine signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and successfully has given all it's nuclear missiles to Russia for liquidation. By 1996 absolutely all nuclear weapons were moved from Ukraine.
In 1991 Ukraine had enormous nuclear arsenal - more than 1900 strategic nuclear warheads and more than 2500 unites of tactical nuclear weapons. Ukraine's nuclear arsenal consisted of intercontinental ballistic missiles: 130 units of SS-19 and 46 units of SS-24, as well as 25 planes TU-95 and 19 planes TU-160 – strategic bombers capable of carrying cruise missiles and launch nuclear warheads.
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Ukraine has passed all of it's nuclear warheads to Russia and as of 21-st May 1996 has no nuclear weapons on it's territory. By January 2002 all strategic bombers that Ukraine had on it's territory were liquidated, sent to Russia or have been turned into general cargo planes, all nuclear missiles were liquidated or were disassembled and waiting for liquidation, and all launch units were destroyed.
Tour around the military base usually starts with a visit to missile engines exposition where you will be able to see engines that were used in different missiles including those ballistic intercontinental missiles as SS-18 Satan and SS-19 Stiletto. Here you will also see famous R-12 or according to NATO classification SS-4 Sandal - missiles that were based in Cuba from 1962 and caused the Cuban Missile Crisis leading to a start of Cold war between USSR and USA. SS-4 Sandal missile was first where a fully autonomous control system was introduced instead of the traditional radio control system that had been used on earlier missiles. Constructors of R-12 or in NATO classification SS-4 missile - Yangel, Smirnov and Budnik received the Hero of Socialist Labor award (the highest industrial award in USSR).
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Here you will visit museum of the complex, where guide will tell you in all details the history of formation and operation of military base. You will see real electronic equipment that was used to control all the missiles! All schemes and plans where intercontinental missiles were situated will be shown to you as well. Even though according to standards such military bases should have been based on a long distance away from cities or villages, this particular launch control center was built super fast in only 18 months under highest secrecy not far away from the settlements in 3 major regions of Ukraine - Odessa, Nikolaev and Kirovograd region.
After museum you will be guided to see how launch control center was built and operated from the surface. You will see main missile silos, there were 10 more situated from 10 to 15 km (7 to 10 miles) away from the launch control center. Lines of communication between those silos are still there and possible to see how everything was organized. All parts of military base on the surface will also be shown including soldiers' living area, kitchen, gym, and so on. Here you will see how security of super secret military base was organized at that time: system by the name module M-200 - super sensitive underground seismic sensors, system by the name Pion-1 which consisted of radio beam protection devices, system by the name Radian with capacitive sensors that register changes in electric capacity of secured fence in terms of moving objects towards it, and finally P-100 net - electrified barrier system with voltage of up to 3500 volts that could be regulated remotely depending on various risks of intruder attack.
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Because of such highly advanced security system even hedgehogs could not pass through without being noticed by security guards. In addition to super secutity system there were several points with machine guns and snipers on duty 24/7/365. You will witness yourself that military base was constructed in such way that soldiers could control the area for a very long time in any situation and thanks to a powerful underground generators this military base could survive even start of a nuclear war. There was enough food and water in underground cellars for soldiers to survive for several months without any assistance from anyone.
When you finish exploring military base infrastructure that was on the surface, you will be guided to an underground launch control center that was built 12 floors underground. This is the most interesting part of this tour! Here you will be guided through a 150-meters underground corridor into heart of launch control center. We will show you air conditioning and ventilation system of underground bunker. The underground launch control center was serviced and could be accessed only by high ranked officers who had individual access to their own areas of control.
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You will be able to explore the launch control center, which consists of 12 levels! It is actually a 12-floor or 12-level container that has a length of 33 meters and 3.3 meters in diameter built inside a missile silo and equipped with special depreciation system. Each floor is a round room which consists of special equipment needed to operate specific functions:
We strongly recommend visiting a launch control center room on 11-th level, which is optional and costs 10 US Dollars per person, but very interesting. You will be taken down and then up by a special elevator. In this room it is possible to see all the main missile launch control equipment and be able to push the famous RED Button, which is in fact of gray color. Guide will show you where on-duty officers were sitting and what they were doing during their work here. You will also see a rest room on the 12-th level where officers could take some rest.
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After getting loads of info about launch control center you will be guided to the field where missile launchers can be seen in which missiles were on standby position. There is one mine launcher which is 70% filled with cement now but you will be able to see a launcher where SS-19 was in a standby mode. Here also you will see many missiles, transport vehicles and even T-64 tank that was guarding the military base.
Since it is pretty hard to describe on a single Web page what can be seen on a tour through a real ex-Soviet military base, the best recommended thing to do would be to book Strategic Rocket Forces Museum Tour from Odessa and visit it by yourself with an English speaking guide. We absolutely guarantee it will be a really unforgettable experience! To book this tour you can simply fill out a booking form, or just contact us anytime should you have any further questions.