KALININGRAD, February 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Baltic Fleet will be beefed up with advanced S-400 long-range air defense missile systems, upgraded Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighter jets and Kamov Ka-27M shipborne helicopters in 2018, Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Alexander Nosatov said on Thursday.
"The Baltic Fleet’s inventory will also continue to be renewed [in 2018]: it will get small missile ships of a new project, S-400 complexes and upgraded Su-30SM aircraft and Ka-27M helicopters," the Fleet’s press office quoted the vice-admiral as saying on the eve of Russia’s Defender’s Day.
As the press office told TASS, the Baltic Fleet currently operates six advanced Su-30SM multirole fighter jets. These super-maneuverable aircraft are capable of employing modern and up-and-coming air-to-air and air-to-surface precision weapons. The fighter jets can cover a distance of 3,000 km without refueling and external fuel tanks.
In 2018, the Baltic Fleet will get Ka-27M helicopters in addition to its sole modernized Ka-27M version currently in service. The press office did not specify, however, how many helicopters with improved combat capabilities and also Su-30SM fighters would be delivered this year.
The Fleet’s warship stock will also be replenished with new Project 22800 missile-carrying ships. The warships of this Project are armed with attack and air defense weapons, combat control, target detection and designation systems and communications means. Precision missile systems are the backbone of the warship’s strike weapons.