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Russian Navy ships has launched 26 cruise missiles against Islamic State targets in Syria 10710156

The conflict in Syria

Russian Navy ships has launched 26 cruise missiles against Islamic State targets in Syria.

This morning, October 7, 2015, ships of the Russian Navy Caspian Flotilla launched 26 cruise missiles at targets of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization in Syria, with IS being banned in Russia, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin in a meeting.

Russian Navy Buyan M-class corvette Project 21631 "Uglich" Caspian Flotilla

"Intensive intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance efforts have developed numerous IS installations over the past two days, including control centers, ammunition dumps, combat vehicles and militant training camps. In addition to the [Russian] aircraft [operating in Syria], Caspian Flotilla ships have been used on today’s morning to eliminate them. Four guided missile ships fired 26 Kalibr [NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler] sea-launched cruise missiles at 11 targets in Syria. All of the targets have been destroyed; no civilian facilities have been damaged," Shoigu said.

"The results produced by the attack have proven the high effectiveness of the missiles at long range - almost 1,500 km," the minister emphasized.

The Caspian Flotilla includes several Project 21631 Buyan-class guided missile craft and the Project 11661K Gepard-class Dagestan guided missile ship. The ships in these classes carry Kalibr-NK (SS-N-27 Sizzler) VLS missile systems. The Kalibr-NK is equipped with various types of missiles, including the 3M54 antiship and 3M14 land-attack missile families and 91RTE2 antisubmarine missiles as well.

The 3M14 missile is a derivative of the 3M10 equipping the Granat system - a Russian opposite number of the US-made Tomahawk. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the 3M14 naval version has a range of at least 2,600 km.

The Dagestan carries a 3S-14 VLS launcher with eight Kalibr launch tubes. The Project 21631 ships operated by the Caspian Flotilla have similar eight-tube launchers. The flotilla uses three ships of the class - the Grad Sviyazhsk, Uglich and Veliky Ustyug. Thus, in all probability, the IS targets in Syria have been hit with 3M14 land-attack cruise missiles of the Kalibr family.