Deployed To Ukraine Battlefield, Russia Boosts Kalibr . Cruise Missile Capability

Russian Kalibr cruise missile firing. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense via TASS)

JAKARTA - Russian defense manufacturer Almaz-Antey is working on an improved version of the Kalibr cruise missile, to increase its performance and higher combat efficiency, said Almaz-Antey CEO Yan Novikov.

"Of course, work on upgrading the Kalibr missile is ongoing and the Ministry of Defense is showing high interest in this type of weapon," Novikov said in an interview with National Defense magazine on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the company's founding, TASS reported April 25.

"We plan to improve its performance characteristics and increase the efficiency of its combat work. We are ready to acquire a weapon that will go far beyond the current generation."

Back in the Soviet period, specialists always integrated high upgrade potential in new weapons. Engineers began to think about further development of the weapon at the prototype stage, he stressed.

The Kalibr is a Russian cruise missile developed and manufactured by the Yekaterinburg-based Novator design bureau (part of the Almaz-Antey Group).

It is known, Kalibr missiles were also used by the Russian military in the invasion of Ukraine. Most recently, the Russian Black Sea Fleet missile carrier has fired a salvo of seven Kalibr cruise missiles at land targets on Ukrainian territory.

"In the context of special military operations, the Russian armed forces carried out another attack with smart weapons against the Ukrainian military infrastructure," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The seven Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from a ship in the Black Sea, against a designated target on Ukrainian territory.

"In the framework of a special military operation, the Russian armed forces carried out another attack with smart weapons against the Ukrainian military infrastructure," the Defense Ministry said, quoted from TASS April 6.

The seven Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from a ship in the Black Sea, against a designated target on Ukrainian territory. Currently, Russian troops use two modifications of the Kalibr cruise missile: the battleship-launched Kalibr-NK and the submarine-launched Kalibr-PL.

Cruise missiles entered service in the Russian Navy in 2012. Russia used Kalibr cruise missiles for the first time during its military operations in Syria.