MOSCOW – Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov has said that IndianNavy may get Russian-made warships armed with the lethal 3M-14 Kalibr landattack cruise missile (LACM) capable of hitting the enemy 2,500 kilometresaway. Borisov said on Monday that Russia’s Project 22800 corvettescodenamed Karakurt are likely to be supplied to India, Vietnam, China andother countries of the Asia-Pacific Region.
“These ships are very successful: they have a big tonnage, good armament,and Kalibr is the most important thing. The corvette has an acceptableprice, it is small, compact and fast. I believe that it has a good exportpotential for a number of countries, especially from the Asia-PacificRegion – Vietnam, China, India and others,” Russian news agency ITAR TASSquoted Borisov as saying.
Borisov added that the first three vessels of Project 22800 corvettes(Karakurt) are being built at the Eastern shipyard, which are likely to beof interest to the friendly navies.
The Kalibr is an improved version of the 3M-14E “Club” LACM and iscurrently the main ground-strike weapon in athe armoury of the RussianNavy. The 6.2 metre long Kalibr can be launched from a ship or a submarineusing the turbojet propulsion system and can carry a 450 kilogrammehigh-explosive conventional warhead or even a nuclear payload.
Kalibr has three versions – the ground strike missile, the SS-N-27(Sizzler) anti-ship cruise missile and 91R anti-submarine missile. All ofthen can be fired from vertical launch system tubes.
Russia has used the Kalibr cruise missiles to target the anti-Bashar Hafezal-Assad regime forces in Syria. Russian warships fired the Kalibr missilesfrom the Caspian Sea to hit targets inside Syria almost 1,800 kilometresaway.