The Russian military conducts large-scale live-fire exercises in the Barents Sea.
Reference News Network, August 7 According to the website of the Russian newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" on August 3, Russia conducted large-scale live-fire naval exercises in the Barents Sea. The Russian Northern Fleet demonstrated its combat capabilities. Surface ships and submarines practiced one of the core subjects: destroying a hypothetical enemy surface ship formation in the distant sea area near the Russian border.
According to the exercise scenario, aerial reconnaissance timely detected a hypothetical enemy ship assault formation 300 kilometers away. The target coordinates were transmitted in real-time to the command post, after which the Russian military launched a large-scale missile strike against the hypothetical enemy ships using four missile systems from different generations and design principles.
The participating equipment included the "Admiral Golovko" frigate, the "Marshal Ustinov" missile cruiser, the "Bastion" missile system, and the "Oryol" missile nuclear submarine.
The 22350-class "Admiral Golovko" frigate launched "Kalibr" cruise missiles. This missile system is regarded as a "network-centric warfare" weapon, capable of executing anti-ship missions as well as striking land targets.
The sea-based "Kalibr" has a unique trajectory: it flies at subsonic speeds (about 0.8 Mach) and at very low altitudes (10 to 20 meters) for most of its flight to evade enemy radar detection. However, in the terminal phase of the attack, the missile ends its stealth flight and accelerates to about 2.9 Mach, significantly increasing the difficulty for enemy air defense systems to intercept.
The 1164-class "Marshal Ustinov" missile cruiser is a heavy anti-ship missile platform that launched the P-1000 "Volcano" anti-ship missile during this exercise. This weapon is a deep modification of the famous "Granite" missile, officially entering service in 1987. The "Volcano" missile has a launch weight of about 9.3 tons and is classified as a heavy supersonic missile, capable of destroying large surface warships such as aircraft carriers.
Compared to previous models, the core upgrade of the "Volcano" is an increased range of about 1,000 kilometers. It is equipped with a powerful electronic warfare system that can suppress enemy radar, significantly enhancing the probability of breaching area air defense systems. The conventional warhead weighs half a ton, sufficient to severely damage even the most protected warships.
In addition to the naval ship formation, the mobile "Bastion" missile system also participated in target strikes, launching the P-800 "Onyx" supersonic anti-ship missile. The "Onyx" missile is compatible with both sea platforms and land-based launch systems. Its core advantage is speed: it flies at about 2.6 Mach at high altitude and about 2 Mach at sea-skimming altitude, greatly compressing the enemy's reaction time. Depending on the variant, its range is approximately 300 to 500 kilometers, with a warhead weight of about 300 kilograms.
The climax of the exercise was the 949A-class "Oryol" missile nuclear submarine launching a simultaneous strike of three P-700 "Granite" cruise missiles against the hypothetical enemy.
The "Granite" missile has a launch weight of about 7 tons, with a warhead of about 750 kilograms (capable of carrying a nuclear warhead with a yield of up to 500 kilotons). Its flight speed can reach up to 2.5 Mach, with a range of about 550 kilometers. The biggest highlight of the "Granite" is its coordinated control during simultaneous launches. This tactic allows a cluster of "Granite" missiles to penetrate the dense air defense fire network of an aircraft carrier battle group.
This exercise demonstrated that the Russian Navy possesses a full set of combat means capable of destroying any enemy ship formation at any engagement distance. Objective monitoring data confirmed that all simulated targets were successfully hit.
This exercise sent a clear signal to NATO strategists planning to impose a maritime blockade on Russia.
The Russian Northern Fleet conducted large-scale naval live-fire exercises in the Barents Sea on August 3, 2023, demonstrating its combat capabilities. The exercises included the use of various missile systems against simulated enemy surface vessels, with all targets successfully hit. This operation signals Russia's readiness to counter potential maritime threats.
- Russia conducted large-scale naval live-fire exercises in the Barents Sea.
- The Northern Fleet demonstrated combat capabilities against simulated enemy surface vessels.
- Various missile systems were used, including the Kalibr cruise missile and P-1000 Vulkan anti-ship missile.
- The exercise involved multiple naval vessels and a nuclear submarine.
- All simulated targets were successfully hit.