The Bal Coastal Missile System (DBK) successfully struck a naval target during tactical drills at the Opuk practice range in Crimea. During the drills, the missile unit performed a march from their permanent base to the designated area, deployed the system and practiced the algorithm of operations for detecting naval targets. A surface target equipped with special radar corner reflectors simulated the notional enemy’s ship. The firings were held in accordance with the combat training plan of the Black Sea Fleet’s forces to improve the personnel’s practical skills while practicing the assignments of detecting and eliminating naval targets.
The Bal (SC-6 or Sennight) is a Russian costal defense missile system and adopted by a Russian military in 2004. Its designed as a successor to ageing Soviet Redut (SSC-1 or Sepal) and Rubezh (SSC-3 or Styx) coastal defense missile systems. It was . Western reporting name is . This system is also being proposed for export customers. At IMDS 2019, a new version of the Russian Bal-E coastal defence system was presented for the 1st time. The 4-tube Rubezh-ME, dedicated to the export market, is based on a Kamaz 63501 8×8 chassis which is more compact than the MZKT-7930 of the original Bal-E.
The Bal coastal defense system uses Kh-35 anti-ship cruise missiles. The launcher vehicle is based on an MZKT-7930 heavy high mobility chassis with 8×8 configuration and carries 8 cylindrical containers with Kh-35 anti-ship cruise missiles. The Kh-35 is a sea skimming missile. It is also referred as 3M24. It has broadly similar performance to that of the French Exocet and Franco-Italian OTOMAT anti-ship missiles. In terms of range and destructive power the Kh-35 slightly looses to a US Harpoon missile. The launchers can be up to 10 km from the coast and hit targets at ranges up to 120 km (75 mi; 65 nmi). Currently, the Bal system is equipped with an upgraded version of the Kh-35E increasing range to 300 km (190 mi; 160 nmi).
The Kh-35 missile is a subsonic weapon featuring a normal aerodynamic configuration with cruciform wings and fins and a semisubmerged air duct intake. The propulsion unit is a turbofan engine. The missile is guided to its target at the final leg of the trajectory by commands fed from the active radar homing head and the radio altimeter.The Kh-35 can be employed in fair and adverse weather conditions at sea states up to 5–6, by day and night, under enemy fire and electronic countermeasures. Its aerodynamic configuration is optimized for high subsonic-speed sea-skimming flight to ensure stealthy characteristics of the missile. The missile has low signatures thanks to its small dimensions, sea-skimming capability and a special guidance algorithm ensuring highly secure operational modes of the active radar seeker.
