Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, one weapon has been regarded as the “killer” of the Russian army, that is, the “Kalibr” long-range cruise missile frequently mentioned by the media. As a ship-based land-attack cruise missile, this weapon can basically be regarded as Russia’s “Tomahawk”. On March 22, Russian Buyan-M class corvette fired 8 “Kalibr” in one salvo in the Black Sea.
The Russian Defense Ministry has for the first time showed a video of a combat ship launching eight Kalibr cruise missiles against Ukrainian military infrastructure and a strike carried out by the coastal missile system Bastion. In the video, a missile ship at sea successively launches eight cruise Kalibr missiles.
Since the start of the war on February 24, the Russian army has relied heavily on long-range conventional missiles such as the “Kalibr” to attack airfields and important military targets in western Ukraine. This is because the main force of the Russian army is still stuck in Eastern Ukraine.
Besides Kalibr Russia also using Kh-101 stealth cruise missile, Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile, “Iskander M” short-range ballistic missiles, P-270 Moskit, Oniks supersonic missile. It can be said that the Russian army used almost all conventional medium and long-range precision strike methods in an attempt to destroy the key points of the Ukrainian army in the rear.
Among them, the “Kalibr” missile appeared a lot, and its wreckage even fell on the streets of Kyiv shortly after the war.
The Kalibr system was developed at and is manufactured by the design bureau Novator in Yekaterinburg. According to information available from open sources, the maximum range of the 3M-14 subsonic missile launched with this system is about 2,000 kilometers. A special Kalibr-NK configuration of the missile was created for surface ships.
Buyan-M class corvette launching all 8 Kalibr cruise missile from near Sevastopol. #UkraineRussiaWar #Ukraine️ #Russia pic.twitter.com/mmlOTzNDDU
— Defence View (@IndiandefenceNS) March 25, 2022
The Kalibr missiles were used during Russia’s operation in Syria 13 times. According to the Defense Ministry, at least 99 missiles were fired against terrorist targets.
Like many Russian weapons, the Kalibr missile is an “export-to-domestic” weapon. It first appeared as a member of the “Club” anti-ship missile family. As the world’s first anti-ship missile with a “sub-super combined” flight mechanism, the 3M-54E was more well-known before. However, the whole subsonic flight The 3M-14 is rarely seen. This is a land-attack cruise missile similar to the “Tomahawk” with a range of 2000 kilometers.
The first real use of the “Kalibr” missile was when the Russian army intervened in the Syrian civil war from October to November 2015.
It can be seen that the adaptability of the “Kalibr” cruise missile is very good. Literally all Russian Navy ships are equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles fitted inside UKSK-M VLS. From new small missile ship to the 950-ton Buyan-M, Gepard class, Admiral Gorshkov class and the Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates are all equipped with 8 to 16 units of this vertical hair.
Buyan-M Class warships are designed to combat duty missions against surface ships, with the requirement that weapons on board include: 1 A-190E gunboats 100mm turret designed with angled to increase scatter radar, artillery firing rate 80 play / minute, a maximum range of 20 km. The ship’s main weapon is the vertical launch system with 8 bullets 14UKSK anti-ship missiles Kalibr range of 220 km.
Defensive weapons including anti-aircraft artillery shot 1 fast double-barreled AK-630M2 Duet with much higher performance single barrel AK-630M, 2 air defense missile system 3M-47 short-range missiles Gibka use Igla-1M , 2 heavy machine gun 14,5mm machine gun and 3 7,62mm.
Electronic systems on board include: search radar air targets Pozitiv-ME1.2, MR-231 navigation radar and fire control system 5P Laska-10 launch system with 2 PK-10 bullets interference.
Of course, like the Tomahawk, the Caliber missile flies at subsonic speed, and its flight path has been planned in advance to bypass the air defense network. However, its not hard to intercept Subsonic cruise missile any modern air defence system can intercept Subsonic cruise missile.