Russian Submarines Test Fire Missiles in the Sea of Japan Amid Tensions with Japan

Two diesel-electric submarines of the Russian Pacific Fleet, B-274 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and B-603 Volkhov, successfully launched Kalibr cruise missiles against a naval target in the Sea of Japan drills, the Russian News Agency TASS reported on Thursday.

The missile tests came a day after the U.S. Navy and Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force announced joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan.

This test fire comes at a time of tension with Tokyo over its support for Ukraine and the recent sanctions it has imposed on Moscow.
Japan has imposed tough sanctions on Russia, including a ban on Russian coal and the expulsion of eight Russian diplomats over “war crimes” in Ukraine.

Japan also welcomed several hundred Ukrainians fleeing the conflict and sent non-lethal military aid to Ukraine.

As per TASS, over 15 ships and auxiliary vessels of Russia’s Pacific Fleet and naval aviation aircraft provided support for the fulfilment of the combat exercise.

The Russian news agency reported that the cruise missiles accurately hit the target represented by a unique ship structure simulating an enemy surface combatant.

In another news, Seriously Damaged Russian Warship “Moskva” Sinks in the Black Sea

The Kalibr missile system was developed and manufactured by the Yekaterinburg-based Novator design bureau. The system’s 3M-14 cruise missile that flies at a subsonic speed can hit targets as far as 2,000 km. The Kalibr-PL version has been developed for submarines. The Kalibr-PL is a missile launched from a torpedo tube.