Russian warships fire cruise missiles at targets in Syria
Russian frigate Admiral Essen and the submarine Krasnodar which are currently in the Mediterranean fired four Kalibr cruise missiles at Islamic State targets in the Syrian Palmyra region, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
All the missiles reportedly hit their targets. The strikes were directed at heavy equipment and troops brought over from Raqqa.
The Russian Ministry of Defense emphasized that the “commands of the US, Turkey and Israel were informed in good time about the launching of the cruise missiles through the active channels of communication”.
The Defense Ministry pointed out that the Krasnodar fired shots while submerged.
The 3M14 cruise missiles from the Kalibr system were first used under combat conditions on October 7, 2015 in Syria. The Kalibr-NK system is designed to use several types of missiles at once from one vertical UKSK launcher. Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles can also be used from the same launcher. With the Kalibr submarine version, missiles are launched from submarines’ 533 millimeter torpedo units.
The ammunition for the Kalibr comprises of 3M54 anti-ship missiles (with a supersonic combat unit) with a range of up to 375 kilometers, 3M14 supersonic missiles for striking ground targets (with a range of up to 2,600 kilometers) and 91RT anti-submarine missiles.