Russian media lists the missiles protecting Vietnam.

An article on Sputniknews listed the types of Russian missiles deployed on various platforms that are protecting Vietnam.

Anti-aircraft missiles and aircraft-based missiles

According to an article by Alexei Syunnerberg on Sputniknews, the Vietnamese army first became acquainted with Russian missiles exactly half a century ago, in the summer of 1965, when the war of resistance against the US entered its most intense phase.

That was when the Soviet S-75 Dvina anti-aircraft missile system began participating in the defense of the airspace of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. During the war against the US, 1,300 American aircraft, including 54 B-52 strategic bombers, were shot down.

Vietnam also possesses S-125 Neva Pechora air defense systems, which were later upgraded to the more modern S-125 Pechora 2TM version. Although these missiles are old, they are still ready to protect Vietnam's airspace, in combination with newer, more powerful missile systems.

Five decades after the war, the soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army have mastered the skills of using new Russian missiles such as the S-300 missile system, which possesses superior tactical and technical capabilities, replacing the Dvina systems, or the R-73 missiles (US and NATO designation AA-11 Archer).

Vietnam's S-75M3 Dvina air defense system fires.

This is an air-to-air guided missile designed for short-range, maneuverable air combat.

The missile has a launch weight of 100 kg, a speed of up to 2,500 km/h, and can destroy targets at altitudes up to 20 km. The R-73 missile can be used on existing Russian-made MiG and Su fighter jets in Vietnam, and even on helicopters.

In addition, the Kh-59MK anti-ship missile can also be deployed on aircraft such as the Su-30MK2 heavy multirole fighter.

Under sea conditions of level 6, the Kh-59MK missile has a maximum range of 285 km against large frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, with a 93% hit probability. For smaller vessels, the range is 145 km with a 70-93% hit rate. Only one missile is needed to destroy a small vessel, while two missiles can destroy a large cruiser.

The Vietnamese Air Force's Russian-made fighter jets and helicopters are also equipped with Kh-35 Uran missiles. This subsonic weapon, with a launch weight of 500 to 600 kg, is designed to destroy ships with a displacement of up to 5000 tons at distances up to 300 km.

Vietnam's Su-30MK2s are equipped with many advanced Russian missiles.

Vietnamese fighter jets are also equipped with two variants of the Kh-31 missile series, with a shorter range than the Kh-59MK: the Kh-31A anti-ship missile and the Kh-31P anti-radar missile. These missiles have given the Vietnamese Air Force comprehensive combat capabilities.

Missiles in service with the naval forces.

Vietnam began receiving its first Kh-35 Uran missiles in 1999. These missiles are also deployed on Vietnam's Gepard 3.9-class frigates and on Molniya-class missile boats being built under license from Russia, after the first two were delivered by Russia and highly praised by the Vietnamese Navy.

At the Army-2015 forum held on the outskirts of Moscow this month, Vietnamese representatives expressed their intention to modernize Molniya missile boats by equipping them with new Russian cruise missiles. The options include three types: BrahMos, Yakhont, and Club missiles.

Speaking at the Army-2015 forum, held on the outskirts of Moscow on June 16, Shlyakhtenko said: "Vietnam is building Molniya-class ships under license and is requesting upgrades to Project 1241.8 missile boats."

The General Director of Almaz stated that adjusting the design of the Molniya-class ships is not a problem because Russian design engineers have the full capability and experience to quickly modify the project without disrupting the production process.

The Molniya-class submarines currently under construction in Vietnam can be equipped with Klub missiles, which are also fitted to the Kilo-class submarines ordered from Russia. The Klub travels at subsonic speeds; upon approaching its target, the warhead containing 400 kg of explosives separates from the main engine and accelerates to three times the speed of sound.

Vietnam's Molnyia missile boat conducts acceptance test firing of a missile.

The warhead approaches its target at a speed of over one kilometer per second and an altitude of 5 to 10 meters, making the missile almost invisible to radar equipment and rendering enemy anti-missile defense systems ineffective.

The Molniya-class ships will likely be equipped with Yakhont missiles, the export version of the P-800 Onyx, with a range of up to 300 km. This weapon is designed to counter surface fleets or single vessels under conditions where the enemy uses strong interceptor fire and electronic warfare capabilities.

The main advantage of the Yakhont missile is its target guidance system, which allows it to operate on two principles: "one missile per ship" or "wolf pack" mode, meaning it targets an entire group of ships. The missiles are capable of independently distributing and classifying the importance of targets, selecting attack tactics, and planning their own strategies.

After destroying the primary target in the cluster of ships, the missiles will attack the remaining targets, eliminating the possibility of two missiles hitting the same target. The Yakhont, along with its Indian-developed variant BrahMos, is currently considered by Western experts to be one of the most difficult missiles in the world to intercept.

Shore-based anti-ship missiles

Vietnam's K-300P Bastion-P coastal defense missile system.

Vietnam has deployed Yakhont missiles on two K-300P Bastion-P coastal defense missile systems. Each system protects over 600 kilometers of coastline and controls a sea area of ​​200,000 square kilometers. Naval forces worldwide currently lack effective means to counter the Bastion system.

Vietnam's coastal defense system is also built on the Russian model, featuring extremely powerful shore-to-ship missiles, known as the "sea shield triad". In addition to the Bastion-P, Vietnam also possesses the 4K51 Rubezh shore-to-ship missile system and the 4K44B REDUT-M shore-to-ship missile system.

The 4K51 Rubezh (NATO designation SS-C-3) coastal defense missile system was developed by the Soviet Union and entered service in the late 1980s. It was designed to supplement close-range coastal defense firepower, in conjunction with the A-222 Bereg coastal defense artillery forces.

The KT-161 launch tube cluster of the 4K51 complex contains two P-15M Temit (P-15M, NATO designation SS-N-2 Styx) subsonic anti-ship cruise missiles. It has a maximum range of 80 km, a speed of 0.9 Mach, and flies 25-50 meters above the water surface. This type of missile is also installed on older generation missile boats.

The 4K44B REDUT-M coastal anti-ship missile system launches P-35 missiles.

The 4K44B REDUT-M (NATO designation SS-C-1B Sepal) shore-to-ship missile system uses P-35 missiles (the third version of the P-5) and is an upgraded version of the original 4K44B REDUT system from the late 1960s (NATO designation SS-C-1 Shaddock) which used P-5 Pyatyorka shore-to-ship missiles (NATO designation SS-N-3).

The P-35 (NATO designation SS-N-3B) is a supersonic missile developed by the Soviet Union with a range of 460 km and a speed of 1.4 Mach. This missile has a large warhead capable of destroying warships with a displacement of up to 20,000 tons.

The Bastion-P system can be easily linked with the 4K51 Rubezh and 4K44B REDUT-M systems through data sharing and the use of a common target designation helicopter to enhance targeting efficiency, forming an extremely effective anti-ship coastal defense missile network.

According to some sources, Vietnam has been transferred the technology to manufacture a new version of the Kh-35UE, with a range of up to 260km. If Vietnam acquires the BAL-E coastal defense system, it would be a good replacement for its aging systems and provide much-needed strength to protect Vietnam's coastline.

According to Baodatviet