Russian Zvezda Kh-35 Ball missile crews of Caspian Flotilla practice strikes.

The crews of the Russian coastal missile system (DBK) "Ball" of the Caspian Flotilla in the course of a planned tactical exercise worked out strikes, the Russian Ministry of Defense reports on its website.
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The Bal coastal missile system in the fall of 2004 showed excellent results in the state tests and entered service in 2008. (Picture source: Russian MoD)

In accordance with the combat training plan, the personnel of the DBK went to the training grounds, where they worked out various tasks including the use of Orlan-10 and Eleron-3 unmanned aerial vehicles. In the course of the exercise, in accordance with the assigned target, the calculations of the Ball system carried out electronic launches of anti-ship missiles at surface targets of the simulated enemy and discrecretly changed positions. In total, about 200 military personnel and 20 pieces of equipment were involved in the exercises.

In addition to performing training tasks, the flotilla's missilemen are on constant combat duty for the protection and defense of the sea borders and the coast of the Caspian Sea.

The Zvezda Kh-35 (AS-20 'Kayak') is a Soviet turbojet subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. The same missile can also be launched from helicopters, surface ships and coastal defence batteries with the help of a rocket booster, in which case it is known as Uran ('Uranus', SS-N-25 'Switchblade', GRAU 3M24) or Bal ('Ball', SSC-6 'Sennight', GRAU 3K60). It is designed to attack vessels up to 5,000 tonnes. The range of destruction is 120 km with the Kh-35E missile, and260 km with the Kh-35U missile.

The Kh-35 missile entered service in 2003. In July 2003, the system created by the "Tactical Missiles Corporation" passed the state tests and began to come into service of ships of the Russian Navy. Today, it is understood that in the criterion of "cost-effectiveness", It has also been acquired by India. The Bal coastal missile system in the fall of 2004 showed excellent results in the state tests and entered service in 2008.

A Bal system has four self-propelled launcher vehicles each carrying eight missiles for a total of 32 missiles in a salvo, plus reloads for another wave. The launchers can be up to 10 km from the coast and hit targets at ranges up to 120 km (75 mi; 65 nmi). Currently, the Bal system is equipped with an upgraded version of the Kh-35E increasing range to 300 km (190 mi; 160 nmi). At IMDS 2019, a new version of the Russian Bal-E coastal defence system was presented for the 1st time. The 4-tube Rubezh-ME, dedicated to the export market, is based on a Kamaz 63501 8x8 chassis which is more compact than the MZKT-7930 of the original Bal-E.

Bal-E (Picture source: Rosoboronexport)