The 15th Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade "Black Forest" (A1108) is an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

and

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

Brigade of the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

directly subordinated to the Ground Forces command but is currently operationally subordinated to the

Operational Command West The Operational Command West ( OC West, ) is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in western Ukraine. Its headquarters is located in Rivne. History When Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union, there were three Military Distric ...

. It operates a variety of artillery and drone systems including western, indigenous and Soviet era weapons.

History

On 24 August 1991, the 337th Rocket Artillery Brigade of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

was subordinated to Ukraine following the

Dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

and took the oath of allegiance to Ukraine on 12 December 1991. In 1998, the first rocket artillery division "Smerch" of the 337th rocket artillery brigade carried out combat launches at the Chauda military training ground. On 20 August 2003, it became 15th Rocket Artillery Regiment and was recognized as the best unit of the

. In 2008, the 1st Rocket Artillery Division of the 15th Rocket Artillery Regiment performed live fire training at the Chauda military training ground. On 4 May 2006, the regiment was awarded a Battle Banner. On 21 August 2008, it received the honorary title of "Drohobych". In June 2012, the regiment's personnel took part in the 20th review-competition for the best organization of physical training and sports in the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

performing in over a hundred categories and took the first spot. Since April 2014, the 15th Guards Rocket Artillery Regiment has been involved in the

War in Donbass The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when Russian paramilitaries seized several towns. Ukraine's military launched an operation ...

. On 26 August 2014, a soldier of the regiment, Komar Yuri Igorovich was killed as a result of a firearms attack on a travelling convoy near

Heorhiivka, Luhansk Oblast Heorhiivka () is a rural settlement in Lutuhyne urban hromada, Luhansk Raion, Luhansk Oblast (region), Ukraine. Population: Demographics Native language distribution as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: * Ukrainian: 69.00% * Russian: 29.19% * ...

. On 18 November 2015, all Soviet awards and references were stripped from the regiment's title. Two units of the

AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radar AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder weapon locating system is a transportable radar developed in the mid-late 1970s by Hughes Aircraft Company, manufactured by Northrop Grumman and ThalesRaytheonSystems. After testing the system achieved initial operational ca ...

were transferred to the regiment on 17 August 2018. Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, it saw direct combat against Russian forces. On 7 July 2022, a soldier of the brigade, Bordun Ivan was killed by Russian artillery shelling shelling near Siversk during the

Battle of Bakhmut The battle of Bakhmut was a major battle between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian Armed Forces for control of the city of Bakhmut, during the eastern Ukraine campaign, a theatre of the Russian invasion of Uk ...

. In September 2022, it was participating in the

2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive On September 6, 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a major counteroffensive against the Russian military during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As Ukraine announced the start of the 2022 Kherson counteroffensive, Kherson counteroffensi ...

. Throughout the invasion, the 15th Brigade had managed to find and destroy more than 30 air defense systems alone 2023, including the S-300, S-350,

S-400 The S-400 Triumf ( – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S ...

, BUK, "Predel-E", Russians specifically target the brigade due to its operational capabilities employing planes and the S-400 but failed to achieve their aims. Its aims gradually shifted from strikes at the range to 20 km to now 30 km. On 3 November 2023, it was awarded the honorary name "Black Forest". In January 2024, the brigade's forces destroyed multiple

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" () is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first combat use in March 1969 during the Sino-S ...

MLRSs in Luhansk Oblast. On 20 January 2024, it destroyed a Russian

Tor missile system The Tor (; ) is an all-weather, low-to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range external ballistics, ballistic threats ( ...

. On 27 April 2024, the 15th brigade in coordination with Kabul-9 discovered and hit a Russian

Podlet-1K Radar Podlet-1K Radar, also known as 48Ya6-K1, is an advanced Russian air defense radar system. It was developed by Almaz-Antey Corporation for the Russian Air Force to provide support for the S-300, S-400 The S-400 Triumf ( – Triumf; transla ...

using

WB Electronics Warmate WB Electronics Warmate is a class of loitering munition UAVs developed by the Polish defence contractor WB Group. It can be equipped with several different payloads, including fragmentation, HEAT and thermobaric warheads and has a swarming capa ...

. On 4 July 2024, it destroyed a Russian Supercam S350 UAV along with its operators. On 8 September 2024, it destroyed a Russian Yastrub-AV using a HIMARS. A soldier of the brigade, Vasyl Laganyak died on 28 October 2024 while performing a combat mission near Razdolne in

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

. On 16 November 2024, near ,

Vasylivka Raion Vasylivka Raion () is one of the five raions (districts) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The administrative center of the region is the town of Vasylivka. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukrain ...

, artillerymen of the 15th Separate Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade launched an

M142 HIMARS The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS ) is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) M1140 truck fram ...

strike on a concentration of Russian troops killing twenty Russians and was followed by a second strike during the evacuation of the dead and wounded, causing further casualties. On 12 December 2024, the brigade released a video showcasing its forces conducting dual strikes targeting a Russia Zoopark-M1 radar likely using

M270 MLRS The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (M270 MLRS) is an American armored self-propelled multiple launch rocket system. The U.S. Army variant of the M270 is based on the chassis of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The first M270s were delivered ...

.Ukrainian Armed Forces rocket artillery hits Zoopark-M1 radar
/ref> On 3 January 2025, the 15th Separate Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade "Black Forest" published a video showcasing the destruction of the Russian

Pantsir-S1 The Pantsir () missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Three types of vehicles make up one system: a missile launcher, a radar truck and a command post. Starting with ...

using the American

. On 27 January 2025, it destroyed a radar for the Russian

S-300 missile system The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union. It was produced by NPO Almaz for the Soviet Air Defence Forces to defend against air raids and cruise ...

. It has also been known to use British

Storm Shadow The Storm Shadow is a Franco-British low-observable, long-range air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA. "Storm Shadow" is the weapon's British name; in France it is calle ...

missiles and was able to destroy a Russian platoon command post using them

Equipment

Commanders

* Colonel Hryhoriy Demyanchyk (2012–2020) * Colonel Oleksandr Popov (2022-)

Popular culture

Until 2022, before becoming a brigade, the old sleeve insignia of the 15th Rocket Artillery Regiment depicted a shield with a dragon's head, surmounted by a small State Emblem of Ukraine, against a background of crossed cannon barrels. The dragon's head represents the power of missiles. In July 2022, singer Viktor Vynnyk wrote the brigade's march, and presented it in his performance on 11 September.Віктор Винник — Марш 15-ї окремої бригади артилерійської розвідки ЗСУ
/ref>

References

Sources

{{Ukrainian Ground Forces Military units and formations established in 1992 Ministry of Defence (Ukraine) Artillery brigades of Ukraine Missile brigades Military units and formations of Ukraine in the Russian invasion of Ukraine Military units and formations of Ukraine in the war in Donbas