SS-N-27

The 3M-54 Kalibr, (Калибр, caliber), also referred to it as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza (Бирюза, turquoise), (NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler and SS-N-30A) is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by the Novator Design Bureau (OKB-8). There are ship-launched, submarine-launched and air-launched versions of the missile, and variants for anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack use. Some versions have a second propulsion stage that initiates a supersonic sprint in the terminal approach to the target, reducing the time that target's defense systems have to react, while subsonic versions have greater range than the supersonic variants. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to of explosive or a thermonuclear warhead.

Design

The missile is a modular system with five versions: two anti-shipping types, one for land attack and two anti-submarine types. The missile is designed to share common parts between the surface and submarine-launched variants but each missile consists of different components, for example, the booster. The missile can be launched from a surface ship using a vertical launching system (VLS).

It has a booster with thrust vectoring capability. The missile launched from a submarine torpedo tube has no need for such an addition but has a conventional booster instead. The air launched version is held in a container that is dropped as the missile launches, detaching from the container.

There are several claims about the maximum range of Kalibr land attack versions in use by Russia. The U.S. Department of Defense estimates its range at , and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu put its range at "almost ." Following its first operational firing in October 2015, Russian Ministry of Defence statements suggested a range of , while a December 2015 Office of Naval Intelligence report gathered a number of Russian statements projecting ranges between 1,500-.

Discrepancies in range values may be political declarations for strategic effect, or potentially longer 2,500 km-range claims could be associated with a thermonuclear armed variant while shorter 1,500 km-range estimates are for the conventionally armed missile.Sokov on Russian Cruise Missiles
– Armscontrolwonk.com, 25 August 2015

Terminal supersonic flight

The Russian domestic variant (3M54T / 3M54K) and export variants (3M54TE/3M54KE) fly at sub-sonic speeds while achieving supersonic speed (Mach 3.0) as they near their target. They are also capable of performing very high angled defensive high speed maneuvers in contrast to the common linear flight path of other anti-ship cruise missiles.

Its Mach 3.0 speed means that modern missile defense systems have a harder time countering it and its precision makes it lethal to medium targets such as destroyers

Operational history

Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war

* On 7 October 2015, a Gepard class frigate and three Buyan-M class Russian Navy corvettes, part of the Caspian Flotilla launched 26 Kalibr-NK system cruise missiles 3M14T from the Caspian Sea at 11 targets in Syria during the Syrian Civil War. The missiles traveled 1,500 km (932 mi) through Iranian and Iraqi airspace and struck targets in Raqqa and Aleppo provinces (controlled by the Islamic State) but primarily in Idlib province (controlled by the Free Syrian Army and Nusra Front). Anonymous US DoD officials alleged that four missiles crashed in Iran. The US officials offered no evidence while Russian and Iranian governments denied the claim of missile crash. Pentagon and State Department officials refused to comment on the reports. Russia posted video footage of 26 Kalibr missile launches as well as several videos of missile impacts without time or location information.
* On 20 November 2015 Russia launched 18 3M14T cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea onto targets in Syria, the targets were in Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo.
* On 9 December 2015 Russia fired a group of 3M14K cruise missiles from Kalibr-PL system at positions occupied by ISIL from the Improved Kilo-class submarine B-237 ''Rostov-on-Don'' deployed in the Mediterranean.
*On 19 August 2016 Russia launched three Kalibr-NK cruise missiles from Buyan-class corvette Zelenyy Dol and Serpukhov deployed in the eastern Mediterranean, and struck al-Nusra targets in the Aleppo province.
*On 20 September 2016 Russian state media reported that Russian warships in the Mediterranean fired three Kalibr-NK missiles at western Aleppo, near Mount Simeon. The Russians claimed that the missile strike killed "30 Israeli and Western officers directing the terrorists' attacks in Aleppo and Idlib".
*On 15 November 2016 Russian frigate ''Admiral Grigorovich'' fired at least three missiles against targets in Idlib and Homs provinces, Syria, in the opening stages of the decisive offensive on Aleppo.
*On 31 May 2017 the Russian frigate ''Admiral Essen'' and submarine ''Krasnodar'' launched four missiles against targets east of Palmyra, Syria.
*On 23 June 2017 Russian frigates ''Admiral Grigorovich'' and ''Admiral Essen'', and the submarine ''Krasnodar'' fired six Kalibr missiles at ISIL arms depot targets in Hama.
*On 5 September 2017 the Russian frigate ''Admiral Essen'' fired some Kalibr missiles on ISIL targets (command posts, a communications center, a facility repairing armored vehicles, and arms and ammunition depots) as part of an operation to take Deir ez-Zor.
*On 14 September 2017 the Russian submarines ''Veliky Novgorod'' and ''Kolpino'' fired seven Kalibr missiles on ISIL targets (command posts, communications centers and ammunition depots) in the south-east of Deir ez-Zor.
*On 22 September 2017 the Russian submarine ''Veliky Novgorod'' fired at least three Kalibr missiles on al-Nusra in the Idlib province. The missile strike destroyed command centers, training bases and armored vehicles.
*On 5 October 2017 the Russian submarines ''Veliky Novgorod'' and ''Kolpino'' launched 10 Kalibr missiles. The strikes were to support Syrian troops conducting a ground offensive in Deir-ez-Zor province.
*On 31 October 2017 the Russian submarine ''Veliky Novgorod'' launched 3 Kalibr missiles. The strikes were again to support Syrian troops conducting a ground offensive in Deir-ez-Zor province.
*On 3 November 2017 the Russian submarine ''Kolpino'' launched 6 Kalibr missiles from a submerged position. Missiles hit terrorists' strongholds, weapon and ammunition depots, concentrations of militants, and important command centres near Abu Kamal, Deir-ez-Zor.
*On 3 February 2018 Russian frigates and submarines active in the Mediterranean sea launched several Kalibr missiles on the positions of rebels in the Idlib province, Syria where the Sukhoi Su-25 attack aircraft of Major Roman Filipov was shot down, killing about 30.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

*During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine's military command reported widespread usage of Kalibr cruise missiles in strikes against strategic and non-combat targets across Ukraine. The opening assault is said to have included about 30 missiles.
*On 14 July, 2022, three Kalibr cruise missiles hit the city center of Vinnytsia, Ukraine, killing at least 20 people, including at least 3 children. Ukraine claimed two other missiles were shot down.
*On 11 September 2022, Kalibr cruise missiles were fired from the Black Sea on targets in Ukraine. The same day, missile strike on Kharkiv TEC-5 thermal power plant in Kharkiv

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