Coastal Missile-Artillery Forces (BRAV)

Coastal missile and artillery troops (BRAV) are designed to cover the forces of the fleets, troops, people and objects on the coast from the effects of enemy surface ships; defense of naval bases and other important fleet objects from land, including against naval and airborne assault forces; disembarkation and actions in marine, airborne assault forces; assisting ground forces in antiamphibious defense of amphibious areas of the coast; destruction of surface ships, boats and airborne vehicles in the zone of reach of weapons.

The coastal troops are military branch of the Russian Navy. The structure remained the same as in the years of the USSR. BV consists of two military branches: the Coastal Missile Forces and the Marine Corps, which are adapted for independently solving certain targets. Also, if necessary, they can interact with other parts and compounds. The main organizational units of the Fleet Coastal Forces are represented by brigades and battalions (divisions).

Coastal Forces (BV) - a branch of the forces of the Navy intended to cover the forces of fleets, troops, population and objects on the sea coast from the effects of enemy surface ships; defense of naval bases and other important naval facilities from land, including from sea and airborne assault forces; landings and operations in naval and airborne landings; assisting the ground forces in the anti-landing defense of airborne dangerous areas of the sea coast; the destruction of surface ships, boats and landing vehicles in the range of weapons.

Coastal troops include two types of troops: coastal missile and artillery troops and marines. Each branch of the army solves certain targets on its own and in collaboration with other branches of the BV and Navy forces, as well as with formations and units of other branches of the Armed Forces and military branches. The main organizational units of the BV are brigades, battalions (divisions). They are equipped with predominantly weapons and combined-arms type weapons. They are armed with coastal missile systems (DBK) anti-ship guided missiles, stationary and mobile artillery installations designed to destroy sea and ground targets, special (marine) reconnaissance equipment, etc.

Coastal Missile-Artillery Forces (BRAV - beregovye raketno artillerijskie vojska) is a branch of the coastal forces of the Navy. They include rocket units equipped with land stationary and mobile rocket complexes, as well as coastal artillery units. They are intended to destroy surface ships, airborne detachments and convoys of the enemy, cover base points, coastal fleet facilities, coastal sea lanes and groups of forces operating on coastal directions. In addition, they can be used to destroy enemy bases and ports.

The decision to form the Coastal Forces (BV) of the Navy as a new modern kind of force was taken in October 1989 on the basis of two separate types of forces existing in the Navy - coastal missile-artillery troops (BRAV) and marines (MP), with the transfer of naval forces parts of the land forces stationed on the coast. At the head of the newly created kind of forces in the fleet (flotilla, naval base) was the head of the Coastal Forces, and in the Main Command of the Navy - the head of the Coastal Forces of the Navy with the appropriate departments. In addition to coastal missile and artillery troops and marines in the BV included coast guard troops (UBO). Each branch of the military solves specific targets independently and in cooperation with other branches of the BV troops and naval forces, as well as formations and units of other branches of the Armed Forces. At that time, four motorized rifle divisions and four artillery formations, reorganized into coastal defense divisions, were transferred to the navy from the ground forces. But in the mid-1990s, these military units were disbanded.

By 2017 in the Russian Navy there was said to be only one active military unit of coastal defense - the 126th brigade deployed in the Crimea. It includes several motorized rifle and one tank battalion, artillery and anti-aircraft divisions, as well as reconnaissance and engineering-sapper units. The task of the 126th brigade was to defend the Black Sea Fleet and the Crimean coast bases from amphibious assault forces and the possible attack of a potential enemy from land. Also in August 2016, the Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of a new division, which will be engaged in the defense of Chukotka. It is noteworthy that its composition will include battalions, whose personnel will move on quad bikes.

The Russian military planned to deploy two new coastal defense units in the coastal areas of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Their task is to ensure the safety of sections of the NSR route, as well as the adjacent coast. It is assumed that the new military units will not be lower than the level of the division, while one of the new units will be deployed on the Kola Peninsula on the basis of the coastal forces of the Northern Fleet.

In 2021, the coastal missile and artillery troops (BRAV) of the Russian Navy received a new development. The department made a decision to increase the combat capabilities of these forces. Additional units will be formed in their composition, the missilemen will be re-equipped. These changes are intended not only to strengthen BRAV, but also to make them more multifunctional, capable of solving a wide range of tasks.

At the end of 2020, a new 75th missile brigade was formed on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, becoming the seventh unit of this type of the Navy. During the Soviet period of history, BRAV consisted of only six brigades. Perhaps the most significant was the deployment on the island of Matua of the battalion of the BRK "Bastion". Now the sea space of the Far East from Primorye to Chukotka was under reliable cover. With the emergence of coastal missile battalions with Bastion complexes in Chukotka and at Russian outposts, as well as a battalion of Bal complexes on the island of Kronstadt, a unique situation has developed: almost the entire Russian sea coast is covered with anti-ship missile systems.

At the end of the summer of 2021, Kh-35U missiles were tested from the coastal installations of the Ball complex. Previously, with the X-35 ammunition, it was a tactical complex, but now it is actually becoming operational-tactical. The flight distance of the new missile has become commensurate with the range of the Onyx of the Bastion complex.

With the increase in the flight range of new missiles, the tactical scheme of using coastal missile forces also changes.Previously, for a brigade of two Bastion divisions and one Bala, it was as follows: first, an enemy strike force approaching the Russian coast is fired at at a distance of about 300 km from the Bastion complexes (16 missiles in a salvo); then the ships that broke through at a distance of about 150 km are struck by the Bal complex (32 in a salvo). Now, at a distance of more than 300 km, the enemy can be fired upon by two types of missile systems at once. Accordingly, the brigade commander will be able to send lighter Kh-35U missiles to cheaper ships, and more powerful Onyxes to more important targets such as an aircraft carrier or an amphibious assault ship. A salvo of fifty simultaneously flying missiles will be much more difficult for the enemy to repel than two consecutive volleys. At present, BRAV includes about eight divisions of the Ball complex. The first to be re-equipped were the brigades of the Northern and Black Sea fleets, and then the rest of the units.

From the train to the "Ball": missilemen are being prepared for transfer to any part of the country. The navy worked out the transfer of anti-ship systems between the likely theaters of military operations. Another important moment in the development of BRAV was the development of the redeployment of units from one fleet to another. The redeployment of coastal missile units to other directions is being honed to strengthen and integrate into local military formations. At the same time, the missilemen will learn the features of new theaters of military operations.

In particular, in 2021, the transfer of coastal personnel of the Baltic Fleet to the coast of the Arctic Ocean and to the Far East was worked out. These trainings allow, in the event of an aggravation of the situation, for example, in the Far East, to strengthen the BRAV grouping of the Pacific Fleet at the expense of units from the European part of Russia. In the same way, by the transfer of sea, rail and air transport, it is possible to increase the grouping of coastal missile forces in the Crimea in the shortest possible time. In general, if necessary, missile units can cover any corner of the world where, for example, an anti-terrorist operation is required.

The general aggravation of the situation in Eastern Europe, the military strengthening of the Baltic countries, as well as the pulling of Sweden and Finland into NATO orbit led Russia to the need to deploy coastal missile units in the Russian part of the Gulf of Finland. At present, in fact, there has been a restoration of mine and artillery positions during the First and Second World Wars . Then Russian sailors set minefields covering the Gulf of Finland to prevent the breakthrough of German ships to St. Petersburg. So that the enemy could not wipe the fields and open the way for their ships, they covered themselves with coastal artillery. Now there has been a revival of such positions in the form of a mine-missile position. That isin the event of any aggravation between Russia and NATO, it is possible to block the approaches to the largest scientific, cultural and technical center of the country with minefields and cover them with missile systems recently deployed in this region.

The Navy continued work on the creation of a unified information and control battlefield. Within its framework, sailors learned to exchange information and transfer data between ships, aircraft and coastal units. During the exercises in October 2021, the frigate "Admiral Gorshkov" gave target designation to coastal complexes from Franz Josef Land. So, "Bastions" will be able to hit invisible enemy naval targets and save naval ammunition. Still, reloading a coastal installation is much faster than a ship at sea.

In general, the BRAV of the Russian Navy are becoming troops of global maneuver between different theaters of military operations. At the same time, their strengthening is constantly taking place. In 2021, three sets of missile systems were received into service, and two more are expected to arrive in 2022. In the near future, we should expect the re-equipment of the Bastion complexes with new hypersonic missiles, and then the range may increase to 1–1.5 thousand km.

At the end of the Soviet era, Colonel-General Ivan Skuratov, Commander of the Coastal Forces of the USSR Navy, worked to transform coastal missile units into global strike forces. It was expected to enter service with a missile system with a firing range of up to 1.5 thousand km. The collapse of the USSR prevented this process. Now, 30 years later, Russia witnessed an unprecedented development of this component of the Navy as a means of combating any sea and coastal targets on a global scale.