Coastal Troops of the Caspian Flotilla
Strategic Overview
The Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy’s Caspian Flotilla are tasked with coastal defense, littoral security, protection of naval base infrastructure, and support to amphibious operations along Russia’s Caspian shoreline. Core elements comprise a naval infantry regiment, two separate coastal missile battalions equipped with the 3K60 Bal anti-ship system, and a separate radio-technical center operating an over-the-horizon coastal radar for wide-area maritime surveillance and target detection.
Order of Battle and Identifiers
Identified units include the 177th Naval Infantry Regiment (military unit 87852; commander: Colonel Pavel Zelensky), the 847th Separate Coastal Missile Battalion (3K60 Bal), the 51st Separate Coastal Missile Battalion (3K60 Bal), and a Separate Radio-Technical Center (military unit 87111) operating an MR-900 Podsolnukh-E coastal over-the-horizon radar. The naval infantry regiment is associated with BTR-82A, BTR-70, 2S9 Nona-S, and MT-LB platforms.
Basing and Area of Responsibility
The Caspian Flotilla’s principal base is in Kaspiysk, Republic of Dagestan, commissioned in phases from 2018 to 2021. The 177th Naval Infantry Regiment is garrisoned in Kaspiysk. The coastal missile battalions operate along the Russian Caspian coastline in support of the flotilla’s base security and sea-denial tasks. The radio-technical center employing Podsolnukh-E is positioned on the Caspian coast; exact site coordinates for these units are not officially published in open sources.
177th Naval Infantry Regiment: Role and Tasks
The regiment provides ship-to-shore assault and defense, security of naval installations and ports, and quick-reaction littoral maneuver in support of the Caspian Flotilla. Tasks include amphibious landing operations, defense of coastal approaches, protection of maritime infrastructure and sea lines of communication, and integration with naval gunfire and missile support.
177th Regiment Equipment Profile
BTR-82A is an 8x8 amphibious armored personnel carrier with a stabilized 30 mm 2A72 cannon and 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, improved fire control, and a 300 hp diesel, providing road speeds up to roughly 80–100 km/h and limited water mobility. BTR-70 is an earlier 8x8 amphibious vehicle typically armed with a 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine gun and 7.62 mm PKT, with twin gasoline engines and lower survivability relative to the BTR-82A. The 2S9 Nona-S is a 120 mm self-propelled gun-mortar on a tracked chassis capable of both direct and high-angle fire; typical range is approximately 8.7 km with standard HE and up to about 12.8 km with rocket-assisted munitions. MT-LB is a multipurpose amphibious tracked carrier used for troop transport, towing, and logistics, enhancing mobility in soft-soil and littoral terrain.
Coastal Missile Forces: 847th and 51st Battalions
The 847th and 51st Separate Coastal Missile Battalions field the 3K60 Bal coastal defense system. A typical Bal battalion includes command and control elements, target acquisition assets, up to four transporter-erector-launchers (TELARs) each carrying eight Kh-35-family anti-ship missiles, and associated reload and support vehicles, yielding up to 32 ready-to-fire missiles per battalion with additional reload capacity. The units provide mobile sea-denial coverage along the Russian Caspian coast.
3K60 Bal System and Kh-35 Family: Technical Characteristics
The 3K60 Bal employs Kh-35-series subsonic, sea-skimming anti-ship missiles guided by inertial navigation with active radar terminal homing. The baseline Kh-35 has a nominal range in the 120–130 km class, while the Kh-35U extended-range variant is publicly reported in the 260–300 km class. Typical cruise altitude is low-level overwater with terminal profiles of a few meters above sea surface; speed is around Mach 0.8–0.9; the warhead is approximately 145 kg HE. The system is designed for rapid deployment from road-mobile TELARs, salvo firing, and operation with external targeting support.
Sensor Network: Separate Radio-Technical Center and MR-900 Podsolnukh-E
The Separate Radio-Technical Center (military unit 87111) operates the MR-900 Podsolnukh-E coastal over-the-horizon surface-wave radar, providing continuous maritime surveillance over several hundred kilometers. Manufacturer and official export literature attribute detection of surface vessels out to approximately 450 km and low-altitude air targets at shorter ranges, subject to target characteristics and environmental conditions. As a surface-wave HF OTH radar, performance depends on sea state, electromagnetic conditions, and coastal siting; it is suited to persistent wide-area detection and tracking of surface targets.
Command, Control, and Targeting Integration
Bal battalions possess organic command posts and target acquisition means and can accept external target data from coastal radars such as Podsolnukh-E, from naval sensors, aviation, or unmanned systems. The sensor-to-shooter chain typically fuses wide-area detection with localized targeting and engagement-quality updates before launch. Podsolnukh-E provides long-range situational awareness but is not generally used as a sole fire-control source; refined targeting is normally provided through dedicated coastal, shipborne, or airborne sensors before missile employment.
Operational Patterns and Training
Caspian Flotilla coastal troops routinely conduct amphibious training, coastal defense drills, and integrated missile exercises reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Strategic command-post exercises in the Southern Military District, including the Kavkaz series, have featured Caspian Flotilla participation with combined-arms coastal defense, ship-to-shore movements, and coordinated use of coastal missile assets under joint naval and coastal command arrangements.
Coverage Assessment in the Caspian Sea
Mobile deployment of Bal TELARs along the Dagestan and northern Caspian shoreline enables flexible coverage of maritime approaches and key routes. From southern Dagestan, an extended-range Kh-35U envelope on the order of 260–300 km can reach central Caspian traffic lanes and approaches to the Absheron Peninsula; the baseline Kh-35 range of approximately 120–130 km covers nearer coastal waters and sea lines along the western Caspian. From northern littorals near Astrakhan, coverage focuses on the shallow northern Caspian and central sectors. Full sea-wide coverage would require multiple deployment sites or forward movement of mobile launchers; precise coverage depends on the variant of missile fielded and actual emplacement locations, which are not publicly disclosed.
Infrastructure and Sustainment
The modernized naval base at Kaspiysk provides pier, maintenance, and logistics support to the flotilla and its coastal troops. Road and rail links connect Dagestan and Astrakhan logistics hubs to unit garrisons, and coastal training areas support amphibious and missile training. Ammunition storage, motor pools, and field-deployable support assets enable dispersion and short-notice movement of Bal batteries and naval infantry elements along the coastline.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths include the combination of persistent wide-area maritime surveillance via Podsolnukh-E with mobile coastal anti-ship missile units capable of salvo fire, plus a naval infantry regiment for littoral maneuver and base defense. Limitations include the subsonic speed of Kh-35-family missiles and their dependence on reliable external targeting for long-range engagements, as well as environmental sensitivity of HF over-the-horizon radar performance; older legacy platforms such as the BTR-70, where still in service, provide lower protection and capability compared to newer BTR-82A vehicles.
Legal and Regional Context
The Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea signed on 12 August 2018 by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan frames security activities in the basin and has been interpreted in practice as limiting the presence of non-littoral naval forces. The Coastal Troops of the Caspian Flotilla operate within this regional framework to secure national coastal interests, maritime infrastructure, and sea lines within Russia’s sector.
Information Gaps
Publicly available sources do not provide authoritative, current figures for the exact number of TELARs, missile inventories, readiness levels, or precise garrison coordinates of the 847th and 51st Separate Coastal Missile Battalions and the radio-technical center sites. Where exact details are not published or are classified, they cannot be provided; the assessment above relies on widely reported system specifications, known basing of the Caspian Flotilla, and standard organizational structures for the units and equipment described.