Russia Buys 56 Nuclear-Ready Kalibr Missiles in Massive $100 Million Order

Russia’s Defense Ministry has commissioned a batch of 56 3M-14S Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles—the variant designed to carry a “special” (nuclear-capable) warhead—according to procurement information reported by the defense outlet Militarnyi on October 23. The order is assigned to the Novator Design Bureau, with deliveries reported to run through late 2026. 

Militarnyi’s companion analysis places recent Kalibr production prices in the range of about $2–$2.4 million at prevailing exchange-rate assumptions—while other trade-press summaries quote a similar band of roughly $2–$2.3 million. Older export benchmarks have been far higher: a Russia–India Klub-S (3M-14E) contract implies about $6.5 million per unit. 

The 3M-14 Kalibr (NATO: SS-N-30A) is a ship and submarine-launched land-attack cruise missile with an estimated range of “around 1,500 to 2,500 km,” and it “has become a mainstay in the Russian Navy’s ground-strike capabilities,” according to the CSIS Missile Threat project.

CSIS also cites a US Office of Naval Intelligence assessment that, “Russia plans to deploy KALIBR capability on all new design construction nuclear and non-nuclear submarines, corvettes, frigates, and larger surface ships,” a move “profoundly changing its ability to deter, threaten or destroy adversary targets.” 

Ukrainian open-source monitoring channels that amplified Militarnyi’s report add that the 56-missile 3M-14S lot is scheduled for completion “by the end of 2026.” While those posts do not publish the primary contract file, they align with Militarnyi’s account of a limited nuclear-capable tranche within broader Kalibr procurement. 

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Independent reference materials describe the Kalibr family as capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear payloads, with a warhead mass around 450–500 kg. The system is deployed across multiple Russian Navy platforms and has been used repeatedly in the Syrian campaign and the war against Ukraine. 

Earlier, it was reported that Russia targeted Kyiv in a large overnight attack using around six 3M14 Kalibr cruise missiles alongside other weapons.

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