Main Missile and Artillery Directorate
Department of the Russian Ministry of Defense
The Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, commonly referred to by its transliterated acronym GRAU (ГРАУ), is a department of the Ministry of Defence of Russia responsible for the military acquisition and equipment of the Russian Armed Forces. It is subordinate to the Chief of Armament and Munition of the Russian Armed Forces, a vice-minister of the Ministry of Defence.
The GRAU was established in 1862 to provide equipment and training for the Imperial Russian Army. It was reorganised several times under the Soviet Union before reaching its current form on 19 November 1960. The GRAU is responsible for assigning GRAU Indices – the official designations for all equipment and ammunition used by the Russian military – and currently operates most of the arsenals of the Russian Armed Forces.
As of April 2025, the Chief of the GRAU was Major-general Aleksey Volkov, who was appointed in May 2024 and succeeded Lieutenant-general Nikolai Parshin (ru:Паршин, Николай Михайлович) who took office in mid-2012.
History
The Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) was established on 28 December 1862 by Order No. 375 issued by Count Dmitry Milyutin, the Minister of War of the Russian Empire. The GAU supervised the supply of the Imperial Russian Army, not only with artillery guns and ammunition, but also with small arms, and also supervised the combat training and staffing of artillery units. State-owned military factories were subordinate to it.
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