Moscow. Russia has proposed to equip India with Kalibr cruise missiles with 1500 km range. It can be fired from Indian submarines using standard 533 mm torpedo tubes, which will give it the ability to attack up to a range of 1500 km. Russian officials had informed the Indian Navy delegation in Moscow about this earlier this year. It promises deep-strike land attack capability without major changes to the platform. Along with this, another option has also been added with BrahMos and Nirbhay-class system. This cruise missile will significantly increase the firepower of India’s submarine fleet.
According to the report, Kalibr’s 1500 km range will cover important economic and military nodes in a large area from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Strait. Although India’s DRDO, along with Russia’s seven NPOMs, has a long-term goal of developing indigenous SLCMs, defense experts see Kalibr as a low-risk, high-impact interim capability that buys the necessary time and operational experience. Russia has deployed Kalibr missiles extensively in its military operations in Ukraine. India has signed a deal with Russia for other missiles of the Kalibr family. In early February this year, India had signed an agreement with Russia to purchase Kalibr-PL anti-ship cruise missile.
