Kalibr cruise missiles from submarine in the Med and bombs from Tu-22 Backfires have pounded targets in Syria.

On Dec. 8, Russia launched a barrage of new air and missile strikes against ground targets in Syria.

The attack was somehow spoiled by the NOTAM (Notice To Airmen) issued by the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority about the “possible missile movement throught he airspace of Northern Iraq” for 48 hours from 19.00 on Dec. 6, that forced airlines to cancel flights to Erbil, Iraq.

For the first time, a Russian Navy submarine took part in the strikes successfully hitting its designated target from the Mediterranean Sea: the improved Kilo-class Rostov-on-Don submarine launched the Kalibr-PL cruise missile a submarine-variant of the 3M14TE Kalibr-NK with a maximum range of 2,600 km, fired by a strike group consisting of the Dagestan missile ship, the small-sized missile ships Grad Sviyazhsk, Uglich, Veliky Ustyug early in the morning on Oct. 7 from the Caspian Sea.

The Rostov-on-Don (B-237) is a diesel-electric stealth sub, claimed to be one of the world’s quietest, the first example of the third generation submarines of the Varshavyanka class (Project 636) subs.

According to the Russian MoD, the cruise missiles targeted the “two major terrorist positions in the territory of Raqqa.”

Note: the submarine did not launch the missile from an underwater position.

Air strikes were also conducted by RuAF aircraft based at Latakia, and by some Tu-22M Backfire bombers from Mozdok airbase, in Ossetia, that performed 60 combat sorties in the last three days, dropping iron bombs on their targets.

Image credit: Russian Navy

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