According to one expert on Russian naval doctrine, Moscow intends to further arm its fleet with Kalibr missiles, which will be installed aboard many ships. Recently, Russia launched an attack against Ukraine using Kalibr cruise missiles and other weapons.
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s minister of defense, said on Tuesday that the Lada Kronstadt-class submarine currently under construction would have the capability to launch Kalibr cruise missiles.
On the same day, the state news agency Tass reported that the Steregushchiy corvette would receive a new Kalibr-NK missile system during modernization works at the Kronstadt Naval Plant.
And Mikhail Budnichenko, CEO of the Sevmash shipyard, said earlier this month that the Admiral Nakhimov nuclear missile cruiser would be armed with Kalibr-NK missiles following repairs and modernization work.
Submarine Construction
The diesel-electric Kronstadt submarine had its keel laid in 2005; however, work on it was halted at that point. It was picked back up in 2013 and is still going strong today, after which the ship will join the Northern Fleet.
As a result of repeated delays in meeting the standards set by the Ministry of Defense, the transfer to the fleet was originally scheduled for 2019. An anonymous Russian naval strategy specialist who spoke to Defense News on the condition of anonymity said that the fleet could receive the ship as early as this year.
The submarine will likely have a launcher capable of firing 10 Kalibr missiles.
“Thanks to the Kalibr missiles, submarines will be able to attack not only land and sea targets but also submarines,” said the expert.
Defense industry experts estimated the cost of the Lada-class submarine at $350 million in 2017 but raised the estimate to $700 million in 2018.
Corvette Upgrade
The Steregushchiy corvette was produced under the shipbuilding program dubbed Project 20380. It and the other vessels produced in this effort each included two four-container inclined launchers armed with eight Kh-35U anti-ship missiles, which made up the Uran anti-ship missile system.
Now the lead ship of its class, the 17-year-old Steregushchiy, is undergoing a mid-life upgrade, during which it will receive a 3S14 universal shipboard firing complex. This technology will allow the ship to launch Kalibr missiles and, eventually, Zircon hypersonic missiles.
“The next ships of this class will also receive Kalibr missiles during their modernization,” said the naval expert.
In an interview given to a corporate newspaper, the Kronstadt naval plant general director, Anatoly Beloev, stated that the modernization of the project 20380 corvettes will not begin until late spring or early summer.
By then, the plant will need to deliver a large landing ship to the Defense Ministry, which would leave room for new projects. The schedule of modernization works is not yet determined, Beloev said.
Based on annual reports from the Severnaya Verf shipyard, which makes corvettes, it appears that the cost of corvettes in 2016 was between 17 and 29 billion rubles ($224 and $382 million).
Works on warships
Admiral Najimov, a nuclear missile battlecruiser, has been undergoing repairs and modernization since 2013. More than 150 companies have participated in the effort.
Installation of systems and equipment took place last year. The cruiser is currently in the armament dock and will start testing in the spring of 2023, Budnichenko told a corporate magazine.
After repeated delays, the Navy is finally set to take delivery of the ships in 2024. As part of the upgrade, 20 Granit supersonic heavy missiles will be swapped out for 10 3S14 launchers, each of which will be equipped with eight Kalibr-NK cruise missiles.
According to the naval expert, there will be 80 attack missiles on the ship, a record number for the Russian surface fleet.
The Kalibr family of missiles comprises several variants, including long-range cruise missiles and anti-submarine torpedoes. Russia decided already in the 1990s to equip naval platforms with this weapon. The naval expert said almost all newly built and modernized units receive this system.
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