Russian Navy Reforms Coastal Missile Artillery Forces

Last month, Defense Minister Shoigu announced that the Russian Armed Forces would undergo significant reform due to its combat experience in Ukraine. According to Russian state-owned media, the Russian Federation Navy has begun the process of overhauling its Coastal Troops, specifically the Coastal Defense Missile Artillery. It will now be named the Coastal Missile Brigades, dropping artillery from the name and phasing out the legacy artillery systems such as the 152-mm gun "Hyacinth.".According to Russian media, the divestment of legacy artillery systems is mostly in name only, considering these troops have not been armed with traditional artillery in recent years. However, now Coastal Missile Brigades of the Russian Navy will train exclusively on the Bal and Bastion complexes to engage naval and ground-based targets in surface-to-surface mode..Colonel Khamza Rustamov, commander of the coastal missile formation of the Northern Fleet, announced the renaming of one of the brigades earlier this month. However, this confirmation tells us that change must be reflected across the Russian Navy..Russian military commentator Dmitry Boltenkov told Russian media: "Now the artillery unit is left in only one missile and artillery brigade on the Black Sea, where there is a battery of the Bereg complex. In all the rest, there has been no artillery component for some time. At the same time, the brigades are actively receiving and using the latest missile weapons – the Ball and Bastion missile systems. They are actively used against ground targets during the NWO.".The Coastal Troops (Russian: Beregovyye voyska) are a service arm of the Russian Navy, designed to guard Russian fleets' forces, troops, population, and seashore objects against exposure to enemy surface ships; to defend naval bases and other vital facilities of the Fleets from the land, including against amphibious and air assaults; to be landed and act in the course of amphibious and air assaults; to support the Russian Ground Forces in the course of defense against airborne and amphibious assaults; to destroy surface ships, boats and amphibious transport means within the fire envelope. (wiki).The Coastal Troops are divided into the:.(Now) Coastal Missile Defense TroopsMotorized Coastal Defense TroopsNaval Infantry.In 2017, the total personnel across the Coastal Troops was about 35,000. However, after severe attrition of Naval Infantry units in Ukraine, that number has probably decreased as conscripted Russian troops are prioritized to refilling units of the Combined Arms Armies..So, now that it is clear only the Bal and Bastion complexes will be used by the new Coastal Missile Defense Brigades, it is essential to review their capabilities..Bal Coastal Defense Missile System.According to Military-Today, below is an accurate description of the Transporter Erector Launcher system shown above:.Country of originRussiaEntered service2004Crew3 menDimensions and weightWeight~ 40 tLength~ 12.8 mWidth~ 3 mHeight~ 3.6 mMissileMissile length4.4 mMissile diameter0.42 mWing span1.33 mMissile weight620 – 670 kgWarhead weight145 kgWarhead typeHE-FRAGRange of fire130 / 260 kmMobilityEngineYaMZ-846Engine power500 hpMaximum road speed70 km/hRange1 000 kmManeuverabilityGradient45%Side slope30%Vertical step~ 0.6 mTrench2 mFording1.4 m.However, it is worth noting the primary missile that the Bal uses the Kh-35/Kh-35E missiles, which define this system as the SSC-6 Sennight. The characteristics of this active-radar anti-ship missile can be found below (from the Tactical Missiles Corporation). However, it is worth noting that this system has been modified in Ukraine to engage ground targets instead of its original sea-skimming capability of engaging ships..Kh-35Kh-35ULengthShip/Land/Heliborne4.4 m (14 ft)Aircraft-launched3.85 m (12.6 ft)Diameter0.42 m (17 in)Wingspan1.33 m (4.4 ft)WeightSurface-launched620 kg (1,370 lb)670 kg (1,480 lb)Aircraft-launched520 kg (1,150 lb)550 kg (1,210 lb)Heliborne610 kg (1,340 lb)650 kg (1,430 lb)Range130 km (81 mi; 70 nmi)70–260 km (40–162 mi; 35–140 nmi)GuidanceInertial, active radarInertial, satellite navigation, active/passive radarSeeker range20 km (12 mi; 11 nmi)50 km (31 mi; 27 nmi)SpeedMach 0.8 (609 mph; 980 km/h)Mach 0.8 – Mach 0.85 (609–647 mph; 980–1,041 km/h)Flight altitudeCruising10–15 mTerminal phase4 mWarhead145 kg (320 lb) HE penetrator145 kg (320 lb) penetrating HE frag.Bastion Coastal Defense System.According to Military-Today, below is an accurate description of the Transporter Erector Launcher system shown above:.Country of originRussiaEntered service2010Crew3 menDimensions and weightWeight41 tLength~ 12.8 mWidth~ 3 mHeight~ 3.6 mMissileMissile length8.6 mMissile diameter0.67 mMissile weight3 100 kgWarhead weight200-250 kgWarhead type?Range of fireup to 300 kmCEP~ 1.5 mMobilityEngineYaMZ-846 dieselEngine power500 hpMaximum road speed80 km/hRange1 000 kmManeuverabilityGradient45%Side slope30%Vertical step~ 0.6 mTrench~ 2 mFording1.4 m.This system is referred to NATO as the SSC-5 Stooge and employs the P-800 Oniks Missile, which has the following characteristics:.Length: 8.9 mDiameter: 0.7 mWingspan: 1.7 mWeight: 3,100 kgSpeed at altitude: 750 m/s (Mach 2.6)Surface speed: Mach 2Engine: ramjet, weight 200 kg, 4 tons of thrustRange: 120–300 km / 600 km for Russian ship/sub-deployed non-export modelfor the combined trajectory (hi-lo) – 300 kmfor low-altitude trajectory (lo-lo) – 120 kmFlight altitude of 10,000–14,000 mWarhead: national version: 300 kg semi-armor piercing HE, thermonuclear; export version: 200 kg HEFuel: jet fuel T-6.Radar homing head.all-weather monopulse active-passive, with frequency hoppingImmunity: high, from active spoofing, dipole cloudsRange: 50 km activeLaunchable sea state – up to 7 pointsWarm-up time from power on: no more than 2 minCurrent consumption at 27 V circuit: up to 38 AMaximum angle of the target search: ± 45 °Homing weight: 85 kg.As the war in Ukraine continues, it is vital to observe how or if the Coastal Defense Missile brigades are implemented into surface-to-surface strikes as the Russian Armed FOrces continue to deplete their long-range munitions.