The Russian defense ministry announced that its navy successfully test-fired two Moskit supersonic antiship missiles at a mock target in the Sea of Japan. The simulated enemy warship was located approximately 100 km (62 miles) away when the two missile ships launched their attack. The Moskit cruise missiles, which have both conventional and nuclear warhead capabilities, struck their target with direct hits.
The P-270 Moskit missile, known by the NATO reporting name SS-N-22 Sunburn, is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile of Soviet origin. It is capable of destroying a ship within a range of up to 120 km (75 miles). The missile firing exercise comes just a week after two Russian strategic bomber planes, which can carry nuclear weapons, flew over the Sea of Japan for over seven hours in a “planned flight.”
The exercise took place in the Peter The Great Bay in the Sea of Japan, but the defense ministry did not provide more precise coordinates, according to the Associated Press. Japan’s Defense Ministry has not yet issued a response.
This announcement follows Moscow’s recent report that a Russian submarine in the Sea of Japan successfully hit a land target more than 1,000 km (620 miles) away with a Kalibr cruise missile during a drill. Russia has previously used Kalibr missiles to attack multiple targets in Ukraine, launching them from ships and submarines in the Black Sea.
Source: aljazeera.com
