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Military drills

Russian forces fire anti-ship missiles during Crimea drills

The drills involved various pieces of military hardware

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

SEVASTOPOL, December 24. /TASS/. Battalions of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Bal anti-ship missile systems held drills on the Crimean Peninsula, the Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.

"Battalions of the Black Sea Fleet’s Bal anti-ship missile systems have completed their planned exercises in Crimea. The crews of the firing batteries performed measures to change the combat order and the location in the positioning areas of the Crimean Peninsula after completing the drills for detecting surface targets," the press office said in a statement.

Read also

Fourth battalion of S-400 systems assumes combat duty in Crimea near border with Ukraine

The drills were aimed at practicing measures to detect surface targets, provide target acquisition and prepare the systems for delivering missile strikes in various conditions.

The drills involved 30 pieces of military and special hardware and about 100 troops.

The Bal mobile coastal defense missile complex with the Kh-35 anti-ship missile is designed to control territorial waters and straits, defend naval bases, other coastal facilities and infrastructure, and also defend the coastline in the areas vulnerable to amphibious assaults.

The system can be used in any weather conditions, day and night, with the fully autonomous guidance after the launch amid an enemy’s fire and jamming. The system can strike targets at a range of 120km with the Kh-35 missile and 260km with the Kh-35U missile.

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Military drills

Military drills

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