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The Soviet-era anti-ship missile system has still not lost its luster and secures the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea. Recently, video footage of the Utes Coastal Defense Anti-Ship Missile System was uploaded on October 14, 2020 by TV Zvezda, the official television channel of the Russian Defense Ministry.
The additional report consulted by The reader said the missile firing exercise was conducted after Kavkaz-2020, a multinational military exercise organized by Moscow that took place in late September.
The report reveals that the joint missile exercise took place on the Russian Navy frigate Admiral Grigorovich, the lead ship of its class, and the Utes battery in Sevastopol.
He further stated that a 3M44 Progress anti-ship missile was launched from the Utes battery and was subsequently successfully intercepted by the frigate’s air defense systems at a distance of over 6.2 miles..
It shows the Progress missile starting from the right side of the twin-tube launcher and then disappearing into the bunker, secured by metal doors.
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The Navy range secured the water of Sevastopol where the exercise took place. During the exercise, more than ten warships and other vessels from the Black Sea Fleet patrolled the area, limiting intruders.
According to a Russian account that reveals the historical significance of Utes, meaning Cliff, claimed as the world’s first coastal underground anti-ship missile system installed in the high mountains near Balaklava.
Balaklava, codenamed “Object 100”, had two identical underground complexes and launch sites located 6 km apart. The military builders were headed by the chief engineer of the Black Sea Fleet Construction Department Colonel A. Gelovani, the future Deputy Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Engineer Troops, the account noted. Russian.
After the completion of the Object 100 in 1956, it was commissioned the following year as the first coastal missile unit of the Soviet Navy. In 1961, it was decided to rearm the Utes system with the P-35B missile, which was also used in a road mobile coastal defense system, the Redut, replacing the Sopka missiles.
The Utes complex was commissioned in April 1973 and also involved the installation of a new radar, friend or foe identification system, as well as an updated control center, launchers and various new ground equipment, noted The reader.
“Liquid-fueled P-35B missiles could be prepared underground with their wings folded, before being raised to their firing position by raising the launchers. These would then return underground to be recharged, â€the report said.
In 1982, third generation 3M44 “Progress” missiles were introduced into the complex. Due to the large firing range, the Utes complex battery with external target designation could cover the coastline several hundred kilometers long. A powerful explosive or nuclear warhead (350 kt) can deactivate a ship of any class with a single missile.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet was divided between Russia and Ukraine, and the Object 100 was transferred to Ukraine. However, Ukraine has not put the system into operation.
After the occupation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, the Utes was again put into service. Moscow is reported to be deploying modern coastal defenses, including the K-300P Bastion-P mobile system across the Black Sea Fleet.
It uses a ramjet and can reach a maximum speed of 2.5 Mach. Additionally, due to its ability to receive targeting data from a variety of sources including unmanned aerial vehicles, it is much more difficult to target than Utes.
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