Kalibr cruise missiles have already been launched from the Caspian and the Mediterranean Seas to attack infrastructure facilities of the Islamic State terrorist organization (outlawed in Russia), the Black Sea Fleet’s commander said.

"We are receiving new ships for two years. Earlier, they were used for tactical applications only. Now they can accomplish operational tasks as well," Vitko said. "The ships of this type have proved their operational capabilities in the Caspian Sea. Now they have arrived for the Black Sea Fleet. We are grateful to the Zelenodolsk Shipyard for these vessels. Joint work will be held in future and we will receive many ships," he added.

The small missile ships Serpukhov and Zelyony Dol are the fourth and the fifth Project 21631 vessels built by the Zelenodolsk Shipyard in the Volga area. The first three Project 21631 ships, the Grad Sviyazhsk, the Uglich and the Veliky Ustyug, joined the Caspian Flotilla and took part in delivering strikes against the Islamic State terrorist organization’s facilities in Syria on October 7 and November 20, 2015, using Kalibr-NK cruise missiles.

The Zelenodolsk Shipyard is currently completing to build another four Project 21631 small missile ships Vyshny Volochok, Orekhovo-Zuevo, Ingushetiya and Grayvoron that will arrive for the Caspian Flotilla and the Black Sea Fleet.

The Russian Navy is expected to operate ten Project 21631 small missile ships by the end of 2019, in accordance with its plans.

The Project 21631 small missile ship has a displacement of 950 tons, which is 400 tons more than the displacement of the Project 21630 Buyan-class small missile ship Astrakhan. The Project 21631 small missile ship has a full speed of 25 knots, a length of 75 meters, a width of 11 meters, a draught of 2.5 meters and endurance of up to 2,500 miles. The Project 21631 ship’s crew totals 52. The Project 21631 ship’s ballistic attack system comprises eight Kalibr-NK missiles in an underdeck vertical launcher.

According to military experts, the Black Sea Fleet’s new small missile ships will use Kalibr-NK missiles in the imminent future to deliver a strike against the Islamic State terrorist organization’s facilities in Syria, like the Caspian Flotilla’s Project 21631 vessels.

It is not ruled out that the missile strike will be delivered from the Caspian and the Black Seas simultaneously to practice cohesion between the Caspian Flotilla and the Black Sea Fleet. Kalibr surface and underwater missiles will be launched from the Black Sea.

Two Project 636.3 submarines Novorossiysk and Rostov-na-Donu, which have recently joined the Black Sea Fleet, are armed with Kalibr underwater-launched cruise missiles.

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