The most effective in conducting a military special operation in Ukraine objectively became high-precision Kalibr missiles.
The Ministry of Defense has published a video of a salvo launch of "Calibers" at objects of the armed forces of Ukraine from one of the frigates of the Black Sea Fleet. The launch was carried out by four missiles. Such volleys occur regularly, causing significant damage to the enemy. For example, at a briefing on Monday, it was officially stated: "On Sunday, April 10, high-precision sea-based Kalibr missiles on the southern outskirts of the city of Dnepropetrovsk destroyed the equipment of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile division hidden in a hangar, delivered to the Kiev regime by one of the European countries. Four S-300 launchers and up to 25 personnel of the Ukrainian armed forces were hit, among others."
Let's remember how the "Caliber" was created and what it is capable of.
Work on their cruise missiles began in the USSR in the late 1970s, in parallel with the development of cruise Tomahawks in the United States. Several defense design bureaus worked in this direction.
Kalibr was designed in Sverdlovsk, at the Novator Design Bureau. By the early 1990s, the cruise missile was ready for production. But the Union collapsed and the financing of defense industries actually stopped. In the West, they probably rubbed their hands quite a bit, considering that the Russians would no longer be able to make an analogue of the Tomahawk.
But work on the "Calibers" did not stop. Using new technologies and new materials, the designers of the Yekaterinburg "Innovator" have already created missiles that surpassed the "Tomahawks" even of the latest modifications.
On September 17, 2012, successful test launches of KRBD 3M14 missiles of the Kalibr-NK complex were carried out from the Dagestan ship from the Caspian Sea. The abbreviation KRBD means - a long-range ship missile.
Unlike the subsonic Tomahawk, our Calibres can fly in a wide range of speeds from subsonic to three times the speed of sound. At the same time, the accuracy of the hit, which is at a distance of 300 km, which is at 2500 km, is the same. As the developers say: in a peg. Experts believe that the Caliber is several times more effective than the Tomahawk. The following published characteristic speaks about its power: three hits of Kalibr missiles equipped with a conventional high-explosive warhead are enough to destroy a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
The onboard control system of all missiles is built on the basis of an autonomous inertial navigation system. Guidance on the final section of the trajectory is carried out using noise-proof active radar homing heads.
The missiles are capable of overcoming any air and missile defense. The flight takes place at an altitude of 50 to 150 meters, when approaching the target, the rocket drops to twenty meters and strikes a blow that cannot be prevented. The implementation of the so-called slide is also provided. In front of a target, usually a ground-based one, the rocket soars up and dives vertically at the object, reaching hypersonic speed upon impact. The flight of rockets is carried out along a complex trajectory with a change in altitude and direction of movement. This gives the "Caliber" the opportunity to approach the target from any direction unexpected for the enemy.
The premiere benefit of these missiles took place on October 7, 2015, which came as a shock to the West, especially to the United States - after all, only they could afford to fire Tomahawks at their imaginary enemies from a safe distance of thousands of kilometers.
On that day, four ships of the Caspian Flotilla fired long-range cruise missiles 3M14 of the Kalibr-NK complex. The shooting was carried out from the south-western part of the Caspian Sea. 26 launches were conducted towards Syria. All the missiles hit their designated targets - various bases and fortified areas of Islamic terrorists, destroying them completely.
Now the "Calibers" are hitting point, well-fortified and camouflaged objects of the armed forces of Ukraine without a miss.
Expert opinion
APU switched to terrorist tactics
Alexey Leonkov, military expert:
The Ukrainian army actively uses NATO tactics during combat operations with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. This is explained simply. All strategic leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is planned and implemented at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. The officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are only the executors of the strategy that the North Atlantic Bloc is developing for them. The strategic plan, which was laid for the AFU before the operation in the Donbas, consisted in exhausting Russian troops in offensive actions. From the point of view of NATO strategists, our army had to get stuck in exhausting battles for a long time during the hacking of the fortified defensive positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas. The concept of network-centric wars was taken as the basis of this tactic. They assumed that our troops would attack only from the Donbass side. A huge number of warehouses of weapons, military equipment and fuel were created throughout the territory through which the alleged Russian offensive was to take place. The Ukrainian army would retreat to prepared positions and immediately replenish its kit. Russian troops, in turn, would be faced with complex logistics of transportation of ammunition, military equipment and fuel. This, with the normal expenditure of shells in one day, would make this task quite costly.
The second tactic is the creation of fortress cities in the course of the movement of our army, where civilians would be a "human shield". They will continue to use this tactic, knowing the main message of the Russian Defense Ministry that the Russian army is not at war with the ordinary population of Ukraine.
In turn, Russian tactics involve several phases. The first is the creation of a land corridor from Donbass to Crimea. This was primarily to ensure the rapid transfer of troops from the peninsula to the LPR and DPR, as well as to ensure the delivery of goods of both humanitarian and military nature. In addition, the tasks of the first phase included unblocking the North Crimean Canal, as well as taking control of the Kherson region in order to avoid attacks on the Crimea. Also, the tasks of the first phase included a strategy for the entry of Russian troops on the widest possible front - from Odessa to Chernihiv. This was necessary in order to shackle the reserves of the Ukrainian army and prevent the rapid transfer of AFU units to the DPR and LPR. On the one hand, this tactic confused the plans of the NATO and Ukrainian leadership, who expected a strike from only one direction. Thanks to this tactic, the entire system of weapons and fuel depots in the Donbas was opened. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, unable to bring weapons and equipment to the combat zone from other regions, are forced to use what is at hand. Our intelligence monitors this, then strikes with precision weapons, thereby exsanguinating the enemy. Faced with massive strikes by Russian precision weapons and aircraft, the AFU switched to the tactics of dispersing troops. That is, the troops are not concentrated in one place, but battalion tactical groups are being created, to which all types of weapons are attached. Such groups are more mobile, can move quickly to specified areas, as well as quickly disperse in the event of a suspected strike. Many tactical elements have transferred to Ukraine from the experience of military operations in Syria. As you know, American instructors also commanded there, so you shouldn't be surprised. In particular, now the Armed Forces of Ukraine are also switching to the tactics of actions of reconnaissance and sabotage groups that move in off-road vehicles with mortars or heavy machine guns mounted on them. This tactic is primarily based on the use of intelligence. NATO provides such groups with space intelligence data. The group goes to a certain point, where, according to intelligence, there is the least activity, strikes. Then he immediately goes to a safe place. This tactic is called "thousands of injections". It is clear that for a serious military group, nomadic mortars do not pose a serious danger. However, such an alarming fire keeps the troops in constant tension. Our army has learned to counteract this tactic in Syria. Here, the actions of our intelligence units come out on top. They should identify the places where such groups go to replenish supplies and fuel, and then adjust the fire on them.
Prepared by Alexander Stepanov
Sergey Ptichkin
