Russia’s Almaz-Anteya Group is working on developing an “improved version” of the Kalibr cruise missile, CEO Yan Novikov revealed in an interview.
Novikov said they plan to significantly improve the missile’s flight performance and combat effectiveness, making it “significantly superior to the current generation.”
The Kalibr class of missiles comes in ship-launched, submarine-launched, and air-launched versions, ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 kilometers (932 to 1,553 miles).
Ship-Launched Kalibr-M
Novikov didn’t specify which missile version they are planning to upgrade nor whether the upgraded missile would come in all three versions.
Meanwhile, Russia has been developing a ship-launched Kalibr-M with a stated range of more than 4,500 kilometers (2,796 miles) since 2019.
The Kalibr-M will be significantly larger than current versions with a much larger nuclear and conventional payload of around one ton, TASS revealed, citing a source.
Deployed in Ukraine
Developed by the Novator design bureau (part of the Almaz-Antey Group), the ship-launched version of the missile became operational in 2012.
The Russian Navy fired the missile during its operation in Syria with “at least 99 munitions against terrorist targets,” state-owned TASS wrote.
More recently, the Russian Navy fired a volley of ship-launched Kalibr munitions inside Ukraine on March 24, destroying the “largest remaining military fuel storage site” near Kyiv, according to the Russian defense ministry.
About a month later, the Russian Navy deployed a submarine for the first time in its invasion of Ukraine, firing a barrage of Kalibrs from the Black Sea at “Ukrainian military targets.”