On a stopover in the Med, Russian submarines launch Kalibr missiles at ISIS positions

In what has become a tradition for Russian Black Sea Fleet diesel-electric submarines transiting the Mediterranean Sea from their construction site in Saint Petersburg to the Black Sea, Project 636.3 submarines Veliky Novgorod and Kolpino launched Kalibr cruise missiles at ISIS positions in Syria.

The submarines fired a total of seven of the missiles on September 14 from a submerged position in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.

According to the Russian defense ministry, the strikes targeted control posts, communication centers as well as ammo and munitions facilities in the ISIS controlled areas to the south-east from Deir ez-Zor.

It was further said that the target range was from 500 to 670 km, with monitoring data confirming all targets had been hit.

The video below shows the operation

Veliky Novgorod and Kolpino are the final two of overall six diesel-electric submarines to join the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet.

Just like their sister boat Krasnodar on her delivery voyage, the two submarines are spending time in the Mediterranean Sea which they reached in late August.

Krasnodar started her journey from the Baltic Sea to her homeport in Sevastopol in May 2017, officially concluding her journey four months later. During the four months, Krasnodar conducted two cruise-missile launches on Syria, one in May and one in June.

Kilo-class submarines are armed with 18 torpedoes and eight surface-to-air missiles. The vessels can accommodate a crew of 52 submariners and can stay at sea for 45 days.

They displace 4,000 tonnes when submerged and 2,000 on the surface and reach speeds of over 17 knots.

The Kalibr cruise missile that the submarines are fitted with is a long-range cruise missile that is said to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The missile has land-attack, anti-ship and anti-submarine variants and was earlier tested aboard Gepard class frigates and Buyan-M class corvettes against targets in Syria.