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​Object-100 Utes Would be Another Target for Ukrainian Storm Shadow Missile Along With Kerch Bridge

Launch of a P-35 cruise missile from the launcher of the Utes russian Navy anti-ship missile coastal defense division, 2019 / Photo from open sources
Launch of a P-35 cruise missile from the launcher of the Utes russian Navy anti-ship missile coastal defense division, 2019 / Photo from open sources

Object-100 Utes (Utyos) or Sotka is a Russian Navy anti-ship missile coastal defense division built in Soviet times. It is, in fact, an underground, "missile cruiser" of the "Cold War" era, which is unlikely to withstand modern high-precision weapons

After Great Britain officially transferred Storm Shadow to Ukraine, a kind of countdown has already begun in social networks until the moment when these cruise missiles will finally destroy the Kerch bridge through which logistical support of the occupying groups is carried out in the territories of the temporarily occupied Crimea, parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions

But if we talk about all the objects of the russian invaders in the temporarily occupied Crimea, which have not only military but also symbolic significance, and "beg to be destroyed in the first place", then here we can also mention the so-called other structure - the Objekt-100 Utes underground missile coastal defense division.

Read more: Ukrainian MiG-29 May Have Just Gotten ADM-160B MALD Decoys to Facilitate Attacks With Storm Shadow
Launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division, Object-100 Utes Would be Another Target for Ukrainian Storm Shadow Missile Along With Kerch Bridge, Defense Express
Launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division / Illustrative photo from open sources

This coastal defense division was built during Soviet times near Balaklava in the 1960s, and the first combat firing was conducted in 1971. The Russians also had a similar division on Kildin Island in the Barents Sea, but it is now abandoned. In turn, the russians returned to service Object-100, located near Balaklava, in 2016 after the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea.

The Object-100 Utes Navy anti-ship missile coastal defense division is equipped with P-35 supersonic cruise missiles, they are еру 3M44 Progress, which have a flight speed of up to 1250 km/h, a firing range of up to 250 km with a probable deviation from the target of 0.5 km - 1.5 km, the launch mass - 4.2 tons, in particular warhead - 1000 kg. Such missiles were created primarily to arm missile cruisers and submarines, but due to their numerical shortcomings, they were "washed ashore" quite quickly.

Launch of a P-35 cruise missile from the launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division, Object-100 Utes Would be Another Target for Ukrainian Storm Shadow Missile Along With Kerch Bridge, Defense Express
Launch of a P-35 cruise missile from the launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division / Illustrative photo from open sources

Although Russian propagandists have repeatedly announced plans to re-arm Utes with the latest Onyx or even Zircon missiles, nothing is known about the implementation of such plans.

The P-35 missile is also difficult to call the "newest". Therefore, it seems that it is precisely because of this that the russian occupiers in Crimea used the Object-100 Utes mainly for training purposes, for training equipment on ships of the Black Sea Fleet of the russian federation. Although, as we can see on the example of the the Moskva cruiser, destroyed by only two Ukrainian Neptune missiles, such ‘training’ definitely did not benefit the occupiers.

Launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division, Object-100 Utes Would be Another Target for Ukrainian Storm Shadow Missile Along With Kerch Bridge, Defense Express
Launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division / Illustrative photo from open sources

Launchers and other elements of the Object-100 are built underground. The Soviet Union assumed that this would supposedly protect its elements in the event of a nuclear attack, but such a concept has become morally obsolete with the advent of modern high-precision weapons.

It is quite possible that the Defense Forces of Ukraine will have a practical opportunity to prove the obsolescence of the concept of the russian Object-100 and destroy it. Especially if you remember that Storm Shadow cruise missile was created specifically to destroy fortified enemy facilities. In 2021, the Royal Air Force of Great Britain successfully used such cruise missiles to ‘dispose’ ISIS facilities in Iraq, which were generally located in caves.

Launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division, Object-100 Utes Would be Another Target for Ukrainian Storm Shadow Missile Along With Kerch Bridge, Defense Express
Launcher of the Objekt-100 Utes missile coastal defense division / Illustrative photo from open sources
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