Coastal Troops of the Black Sea Fleet
Organizational Overview (Coastal Troops, Black Sea Fleet)
The Coastal Troops of the Black Sea Fleet comprise naval infantry, coastal missile-artillery units, reconnaissance, engineers, electronic warfare, communications, and logistics elements. Identified formations include: the 810th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade (military unit 13140); the 11th Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade (military unit 00916); the 15th Separate Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade (military unit 80365); the 388th Naval Reconnaissance Point (military unit 43071); the 68th Separate Naval Engineer Regiment (military unit 86863); the 744th Communications Center (military unit 40136); the 475th Separate Electronic Warfare Center (military unit 60135); and the 17th Arsenal (military unit 13189). These units provide amphibious capability, coastal anti-ship strike, reconnaissance and targeting, force protection engineering, electronic warfare, secure command-and-control, and munitions support for the Black Sea Fleet.
Geographical Disposition and Sites
Garrisoning and operating areas are centered on Crimea and Russia’s Krasnodar Krai along the northeast Black Sea littoral. The 810th Brigade and 15th Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade are reported in Sevastopol, Crimea, while the 11th Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade is reported in the Anapa (Utash) area of Krasnodar Krai. Fleet-level communications, EW, reconnaissance, engineer, and arsenal support elements are anchored in and around Sevastopol with activity across the peninsula and adjacent mainland. Exact facility addresses, depot locations, and detailed site layouts are not publicly disclosed.
810th Separate Guards Naval Infantry Brigade (military unit 13140)
Role: naval infantry for amphibious and littoral operations, expeditionary tasks, and coastal defense. Reported equipment includes BTR-82A 8×8 armored personnel carriers, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, 2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm self-propelled howitzers, and 9K35 Strela-10 short-range air defense systems. The brigade is based in Sevastopol, Crimea (Cossack Bay area has historically hosted the unit), with training and staging oriented to Black Sea littoral missions. Unit strength, subunit composition, and current vehicle counts are not publicly released.
11th Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade (military unit 00916)
Role: coastal anti-ship strike and littoral denial along Russia’s northeast Black Sea shore. Reported equipment includes 3K60 Bal coastal missile systems employing Kh-35/Kh-35U anti-ship missiles and K-300P Bastion-P systems employing P-800 Oniks anti-ship missiles. The brigade is reported in the Anapa–Utash area of Krasnodar Krai, providing coverage of approaches to Novorossiysk and the central Black Sea. Detailed battery dispositions, readiness levels, and ammunition holdings are not public.
15th Separate Coastal Missile-Artillery Brigade (military unit 80365)
Role: coastal anti-ship strike and area denial around Crimea and the northwestern Black Sea. Reported equipment includes K-300P Bastion-P (P-800 Oniks) and 3K60 Bal (Kh-35/Kh-35U) systems. The brigade is based in Sevastopol, Crimea, with dispersed firing positions used for mobility, survivability, and sector coverage. Specific numbers of transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), reload vehicles, and command posts are not publicly disclosed.
475th Separate Electronic Warfare Center (military unit 60135)
Role: operational- and tactical-level electronic attack, protection, and support to coastal and fleet operations. Reported systems include Murmansk-BN (high-frequency long-range communications disruption), R-330Zh Zhitel (cellular/GNSS/satellite communications jamming in the tactical radius), R-934BMV (VHF/UHF communications jamming), RB-531B Infauna (convoy protection and short-range VHF/UHF and radio-proximity threat suppression), 1RL257 Krasukha-4 (airborne radar and data-link disruption), and Leer-3 (Orlan-10 UAV-based GSM effects). Deployment sites vary by mission; permanent arrays and mobile groups operate across Crimea and the adjacent mainland. Performance parameters beyond manufacturer claims are not independently verified in public sources.
744th Communications Center (military unit 40136)
Role: fleet-level command, control, and communications (C3) support including secure HF/VHF/UHF, satellite communications, and network management for the Black Sea Fleet and its coastal troops. Functions include establishment of protected voice/data circuits, message handling, routing, and cryptographic support linking fleet headquarters, subordinate formations, and national command authorities. Specific node locations, equipment suites, and redundancy arrangements are not publicly available.
388th Naval Reconnaissance Point (military unit 43071)
Role: naval reconnaissance in support of coastal and fleet operations, including coastal surveillance, special reconnaissance, and target acquisition for coastal missile units. Tasks typically encompass beach and littoral reconnaissance, observation of maritime approaches, and cueing or battle damage assessment for strike assets. The unit is associated with Sevastopol, Crimea. Detailed team composition, insertion methods, and equipment inventories are not public.
68th Separate Naval Engineer Regiment (military unit 86863)
Role: engineering support to coastal troops and fleet installations. Functions include fortification and obstacle construction, route clearance, demining and explosive ordnance disposal, port and airfield repair, camouflage and deception measures, water supply and field infrastructure, and support to amphibious operations. The regiment is associated with Sevastopol and Black Sea Fleet facilities in Crimea. Specific subunit structure and equipment holdings are not publicly released.
17th Arsenal (military unit 13189)
Role: naval arsenal support for the Black Sea Fleet, including storage, maintenance, and issuance of missiles, munitions, and ordnance for coastal missile brigades and fleet units. For security reasons, exact site locations, depot layouts, stockpile quantities, and handling procedures are not disclosed in public sources.
Key Weapon Systems: Coastal Anti-Ship Missiles
K-300P Bastion-P employs the P-800 Oniks (3M55) supersonic anti-ship missile with sea-skimming terminal profiles and an active radar seeker; publicly cited ranges vary by variant, with the export analogue at approximately 300 km, while precise range for the Russian-service variant is not officially disclosed. 3K60 Bal employs the Kh-35/Kh-35U subsonic anti-ship missile; the Kh-35U variant is publicly reported with a range on the order of 260–300 km. Both systems use mobile TELs with associated command and reload vehicles, enabling dispersed deployments and rapid shoot-and-scoot tactics. Guidance combines inertial navigation and active radar homing in terminal phase; warhead masses are typically reported in the ~145 kg class for Kh-35 and ~200–250 kg class for Oniks.
Key Weapon Systems: Armored, Artillery, and Air Defense
BTR-82A is an 8×8 amphibious armored personnel carrier mounting a 30 mm 2A72 cannon; BMP-2 is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle with a 30 mm 2A42 cannon and anti-tank guided missile capability; 2S1 Gvozdika is a 122 mm self-propelled howitzer with typical maximum ranges around 15–22 km depending on ammunition; 9K35 Strela-10 is a short-range, infrared-guided air defense system with engagements generally within approximately 5 km range and up to roughly 3.5 km altitude. These systems provide the 810th Brigade with protected mobility, indirect fire support, and point air defense in littoral operations.
Integrated Coastal Defense Effects
From positions in Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, Bastion-P and Bal systems can create overlapping anti-ship engagement zones across large portions of the Black Sea approaches to Crimea, the Taman Peninsula, and the northeast littoral. Naval infantry provides amphibious and coastal maneuver forces, while EW and communications units enable command resilience and targeting support. Reconnaissance elements furnish cueing and assessment, and engineer units enhance survivability through fortification, dispersion, and decoy measures. Exact engagement envelopes depend on missile variant, firing position, and environmental conditions.
Command Relationships and Higher Headquarters
The Coastal Troops formations are subordinate to the Black Sea Fleet. Ground elements in Crimea operate within the Black Sea Fleet’s area structure that includes the 22nd Army Corps, established in 2017 and headquartered in Simferopol, to coordinate land and coastal defense forces on the peninsula. Administrative and operational control can vary by unit type and mission; specific wiring diagrams and current task organizations are not publicly published.
Legal-Geopolitical Note on Crimea
Russian forces garrison multiple sites in Crimea. The United Nations General Assembly affirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity and non-recognition of the 2014 change in status in Resolution 68/262 (27 March 2014). This context is relevant to the international legal status of basing locations and facilities referenced as being in Sevastopol and elsewhere on the Crimean Peninsula.
Information Availability and Limitations
Military unit numbers, general roles, and principal equipment types are publicly known. Precise orders of battle, headcounts, equipment quantities, munitions stockpiles, readiness levels, detailed facility coordinates, security layouts, and current operational tasking are not publicly released or are classified. Where ranges and performance figures are given, they reflect widely cited values for baseline or export variants; exact specifications for Russian-service configurations are not officially disclosed.