A new division of the Bastion coastal missile systems will be deployed in Crimea.
The Bastion coastal missile systems (Photo: Nevskii Bastion / V.Kostrichenko)
A new division of the Bastion coastal missile systems will replace a similar unit in Crimea, which was dispatched to Syria in October, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a source in the security agencies of the peninsula.
“A division of the Bastions will arrive to the peninsula today in order to replace a similar unit, which departed to Syria in October. The Bastions will be deployed in two areas of the peninsula,” the source said.
He noted that the new Bastions are mobile systems, which will constantly change their points of dislocation, moving along the coast of western Crimea, in the area of Sevastopol and Yevpatoria, or to the north-east of the peninsula.
“The coverage with such systems as the Bastion greatly increases antiship defense and security of the peninsula,” the source stressed.
In October of this year, the Crimean unit of the Bastion coastal missile systems was dispatched to Syria in order to strengthen security of a group of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the country and a carrier battle group of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean.
The Bastion missile system, armed with the Yakhont (Oniks) anti-ship cruise missiles, is designed to protect a sea coast, stretching up to 600 kilometers, and is capable to destroy surface vessels of various types and classes. In mid-November, the Russian Defense Ministry reported about the first usage of the Bastion missile systems on ground facilities of terrorists in Syria.
The operating division of the Bastions includes about ten systems, including four launching devices with two transport-launch containers for missiles.
