Coastal Troops of the Caspian Flotilla
Identification
Best match: the Caspian Flotilla coastal-troops garrison at Kaspiysk, Republic of Dagestan. The supplied coordinates appear latitude/longitude-swapped; when reversed, they align with Kaspiysk and fit the flotilla hierarchy. Russian MoD/TASS reporting states Kaspiysk became the flotilla’s new main basing point, with shore infrastructure and the military town built out there from 2018 and the flotilla’s main base in Kaspiysk by 2020. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/5355372))
Mission
This site supports the flotilla’s shore mission on the Caspian littoral: defense of Russia’s southern maritime approaches, protection of economic activity in the Caspian Sea, and defense of basing areas and important coastal objects. In November 2024, the Russian Navy commander said the flotilla’s aviation and coastal components would continue to be developed to remove threats from maritime directions. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/22406537))
Confirmed forces
Accessible official and quasi-official reporting confirms a 177th naval infantry element in Kaspiysk and a Bal coastal-missile division assigned to the Caspian Flotilla. Dagestan audit material recorded road work to the headquarters of unit 87852 in Kaspiysk, while TASS reported that 177th regiment elements are based in Kaspiysk and Astrakhan and that a Caspian Flotilla Bal missile division was actively deploying on the coast in July 2025; TASS also noted the flotilla first received the Bal system in 2020. The exact placemark labels “51st,” “847th,” and the cited radio-technical unit designations were not independently confirmed in the authoritative releases reviewed for this brief. ([spdag.ru](https://spdag.ru/data/uploads/z_uploads/attachments/bulleten/37-bulleten96.pdf.pdf?utm_source=openai))
Sensors
Open TASS reporting confirms that Podsolnukh over-the-horizon radar systems were fielded on the Caspian. TASS describes the system as a coastal-zone surveillance radar with detection ranges of up to roughly 350 km against surface targets and up to 450 km against aircraft, and as a sensor used during naval exercises to observe ship and air activity. The specific placemark claim of a separate Kaspiysk radio-technical center or unit number 87111 is not publicly confirmed in the accessible authoritative material reviewed here. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/11736069))
Infrastructure and posture
Kaspiysk has been developed as a self-sufficient shore hub for the flotilla: MoD/TASS reported administrative buildings, a checkpoint, berthing frontage, floating piers, barracks, dormitories, a dining facility, and a modern training complex in the military town. Current posture indicates the garrison also functions as a force-generation base: as of May 2025, the 177th regiment was deployed with Russia’s “North” grouping in the Kursk border area, while the flotilla’s Bal division was still conducting coastal deployment drills in July 2025. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/5355372))