This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

Russia has been renewing it operations against ISIS in the Syrian arena also from the sea. The Russian Navy has launched several Kalibr cruise missiles towards ISIS positions in eastern Syria recently. They were launched from a submarine off the coast of Syria, according to an Al Masdar News report.

These missiles struck the Islamic State’s positions in the eastern countryside of Palmyra, where the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is currently attempting to advance against the militant group.

Russia has carried out several cruise missile strikes against the Islamic State in the past; however, they have been less prevalent recently due to the Syrian Arab Army’s success on the ground.

The Russian 3M-54 Kalibr and 3M-14 Biryuza, are Russian surface ship and submarine-launched anti-ship and coastal anti-ship (AShM) and land attack cruise missiles (LACM) developed by the Novator Design Bureau.

Derived export versions are the 3M-54E and the 3M-54E1. The 3M-54, 3M-54E, 3M-54TE and 3M-54AE have a second stage that performs a supersonic sprint in the terminal approach to the target, reducing the time that target’s defense systems have to react. According to defenseworld.net, the 3M-54E1 only travels at subsonic speeds during its entire flight, though the range is longer than that of the supersonic versions accordingly.