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Russia’s Missiles: A Major New Weapon in Syria Conflict Russia’s Kalibr Cruise Missiles, a New Weapon in Syria Conflict
(about 20 hours later)
By mounting a missile strike from warships nearly 1,000 miles away, the Russian military added a major new weapon on Wednesday to its operations in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria. By mounting a missile strike on Syria from warships nearly 1,000 miles away on Wednesday, the Russian military demonstrated an important new capability. But the reports on Thursday that some of its missiles had fallen short and crashed in Iran suggested that Russia has not yet entirely mastered it. Here is a look at the missiles.
Q. What kind of missiles were they?Q. What kind of missiles were they?
A. The Russian Defense Ministry said they were ship-launched cruise missiles. The ministry did not name a specific type, but the government news agency Tass referred to them as 3M-14 missiles, which NATO refers to as SS-N-30s. That type is known to be deployed by the Russian Navy, and the land-attack version reportedly has the range to reach Syria. A. Moscow has said they were Kalibr ship-launched cruise missiles, also known as 3M-14s or, in NATO parlance, SS-N-30s. They are a fairly recent addition to an established family of ship-launched missiles that are mostly intended for ship-to-ship or shorter-range missions. The new model, intended for land attacks, is reported to have a much longer range than its siblings, perhaps reaching 1,550 miles.
Q. What is a cruise missile?Q. What is a cruise missile?
A. Unlike a ballistic missile, which is fired on a fairly simple high-altitude arc like a cannonball, a cruise missile does most of its flying horizontally at a fairly low altitude, like an airplane or a drone, and it can trace a complex flight path to its target. Depending on their guidance systems, cruise missiles can be highly accurate and hard for enemies to detect and intercept, compared with ballistic missiles. But they are single-use weapons and are relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture. A. Unlike a ballistic missile, which is fired on a fairly simple high-altitude arc like a cannonball, a cruise missile does most of its flying horizontally at low altitude, like an airplane or a drone. The missiles can trace a complex flight paths, and some, like the Kalibr, are believed to accelerate to supersonic speeds as they approach their targets, making them hard to detect and intercept. Depending on their guidance systems, cruise missiles can be highly accurate, compared with ballistic missiles. But they are single-use weapons and are relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture.
Q. How was the strike launched?Q. How was the strike launched?
A. The Defense Ministry said the missiles were fired from the Caspian Sea and flew across Iran and northern Iraq to reach their targets. Russia has maintained a naval flotilla in the Caspian — which is landlocked from the rest of the world’s seas — for nearly 300 years. The flotilla currently has no aircraft carriers or other large capital ships, but it has Buyan-class missile corvettes, including two that were commissioned just last year, the Grad Sviyazhsk and the Veliky Ustyug. Those ships reportedly fired cruise missiles at sea targets during a major naval exercise last month. A. The Defense Ministry said the missiles were fired from four ships in the Caspian Sea and flew across Iran and northern Iraq to reach their targets. Russia has maintained a naval flotilla in the Caspian — which is landlocked from the rest of the world’s seas — for nearly 300 years. The flotilla currently has no aircraft carriers or other large capital ships, but it has frigates and Buyan-class missile corvettes, including two that were commissioned just last year, the Grad Sviyazhsk and the Veliky Ustyug. Those two ships reportedly fired cruise missiles at sea targets during a major naval exercise last month.
Q. Does the United States use similar weapons?Q. Does the United States use similar weapons?
A. Yes, frequently. The best-known American cruise missile, the Tomahawk, has been used in both Persian Gulf wars and against targets in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya, Yemen and most recently Syria.A. Yes, frequently. The best-known American cruise missile, the Tomahawk, has been used in both Persian Gulf wars and against targets in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya, Yemen and most recently Syria.