Russia to adopt new missile systems in 2006 — minister

ANAPA, July 6 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Armed Forces will adopt new
BAL coastal defense missile systems in 2006, Russian Defense Minister
Sergei Ivanov said Wednesday.

He said the Rubezh missile systems would be replaced with the BAL
systems. Ivanov added that the first batch of the new systems would be
delivered in 2006 to Kamchatka – a peninsula in the Russian Far East
washed by the Okhotsk and Bering seas.

According to available information, the BAL mobile coastal system is
designed to defend coastal facilities and make their combat
capabilities more stable. It detects and tracks surface targets, and
then destroys them with X-35 anti-ship cruise missiles.

The system can both fire single shots and salvos. A simultaneous
launch of 32 X-35E missiles, which have a range of up to 110
kilometers, is capable of disrupting a large-scale landing operation
or destroying a ship attack group.

After reloading, the BAL launch installations will be able to fire
another 32 missiles at ships or new targets.

BAL systems will be modernized in the future. They will have unmanned
aerial vehicles attached to missiles to detect the enemy and false
target-installing means to protect them from enemy strikes.