Cruise Missile Launchers Guarding the Russian Arctic Strike Simulated Adversaries During Exercises

Russian Bastion cruise missile launchers on the Franz Josef Land archipelago in the Arctic have launched P-800 missile strikes on simulated targets as part of Zapad 2025 military exercises. The systems were used to create restricted access and manoeuvre zones in the region, defending an Arctic coastline over 600 kilometres long. Bastion launchers were deployed in firing positions within minutes, and launched missiles at Mach 2.5 speeds with ranges of 800 kilometres. The Russian Navy relies heavily on coastal missile launchers to asymmetrically counter the larger navies of the country’s Western Bloc adversaries, with the rapid contraction of the Russian surface fleet after the disintegration of the Soviet Union meaning that the existing fleet is far from capable of providing an adequate defence without relying on support from land based assets. Russia has maintained a significant lead over its adversaries in the capabilities of its ground and ship-launched anti-ship cruise missiles, with the new P-800M benefitting from greater manoeuvrability and an extended range compared to prior variants of the cruise missile.

The P-800 has been succeeded in service by the Navy’s newest class of anti-ship cruise missile, the Zircon, the first of which were delivered in December 2019. Although Zircon missiles have been deployed from surface ships and submarines, however, a ground-based mobile launch system accommodating the missiles like the Bastion does for the P-800 remains under development. Not only does the Zircon have a longer range than the P-800, with an ability to reach targets 1000 kilometres away rather than 800 kilometres, but it is several times as fast with a Mach 9 speed, and considerably more manoeuvrable. The P-800 is nevertheless expected to remain in production, and could see funds continue to be allocated to develop further enhancements, as it is estimated to be considerably less costly than its successor. Although an air-launched derivative of the P-800 has been developed, with this being produced for the Indian Air Force as the BrahMos missile, no such missiles have entered service domestically. An air launched derivative of the Zircon is currently under development.