The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation’s press office reported on Wednesday that the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s submarines practiced delivering missile strikes during drills in the Black Sea. The crews of the Black Sea Fleet’s submarines Rostov-on-Don and Veliky Novgorod practiced delivering a strike with Kalibr-PL cruise missiles against a group of notional enemy warships. The Black Sea Fleet is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. Since the annexation of Crimea, the composition of the Black Sea Fleet has shifted to focus on the Improved Kilo-class submarines instead of the Lada.
The Russian Navy Kalibr-PL or Kalibr-NK, also known as SS-N-30, is a long-range cruise developed as part of the Kalibr ship borne missile system. This weapon is intended to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy at ranges of up to 2,500 kilometers equipped with a conventional warhead and flying at altitudes of 50 to 150 meters from the ground. It is highly subsonic with a booster in the launch phase. The navigation system seems to be built around the Inertial Navigation System (INS) and satellite guidance (GLONASS).
Under the scenario of the drills, the submarines accomplishing scheduled combat training tasks at sea received an order to eliminate uncovered and identified naval targets. After their crash dive, the submariners delivered a strike with electronic missile launches against the mock enemy warships simulated by a tactical group of the Black Sea Fleet’s ships. The exercise on the use of high-precision weapons in the Black Sea was held in accordance with the combat training plan of the naval forces.
The arrival of U.S. ships in the Black Sea in support of NATO allies has once again sparked the anger of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The destroyer USS Porter entered the Black Sea on Saturday for a routine patrol after participating in NATO exercises in the Aegean Sea. The USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the U.S. 6th Fleet, arrived Monday for a port visit in Istanbul and will soon join Porter. Russia has long complained about NATO and U.S. warships in the Black Sea, especially when they sail near the Crimean Peninsula.
