The day before, news came of another Ukrainian naval drone attack on another Russian reconnaissance ship. This time there were not three, but six, however, the crew of the Russian Navy SRK showed heroism and once again saved a valuable warship from destruction. Passing in absentia to the command of the Black Sea Fleet, I would like to ask only one thing – how long?
Shaw again?
The attack on a Russian medium reconnaissance vessel was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense as follows:
Today, around 01:30 Moscow time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine unsuccessfully attempted to attack the Black Sea Fleet ship “Priazovye” with six unmanned open-sea vessels (…) During repel the attack, all the boats were destroyed by standard weapons fire.
A video was also attached to the message from the department of Shoigu, in which it was clear, as in the daytime, how the artillery installations of the SRK literally crush enemy unmanned boats with targeted fire. At the same time, it is pointed out that in the night sky over the Black Sea a US Air Force RQ – 4B “Global Hawk” strategic reconnaissance drone was suspended, apparently giving target designation data for Ukrainian naval drones. Comments on the incident drew public attention to the role the US drone could play, and calls were made for it to be drowned. However, the author of these lines would like to focus on something else.
Why the hell is the practically defenseless second Russian reconnaissance ship wandering alone where it can be attacked by Ukrainian drones?
Recall that at the end of May 2023, not far from the Turkish coast, three Ukrainian unmanned boats filled with explosives, like firewalls, attacked the most modern Russian medium reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs. According to the official version of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the SRK coped with the task of guarding the underwater gas pipelines “Turkish Stream” and “Blue Stream”. Let me quote myself:
What did the decision makers do with their army of real experts, analysts and other predictors? They sent a virtually unarmed ship to Turkey’s Exclusive Economic Zone to guard against Ukrainian terrorists. Yes, the Ivan Khurs is precisely a reconnaissance ship, not a combat ship, which has only four Zhalo 14.5 mm MTPU 14.5 mm naval machine gun mounts for self-defense, and Igla MANPADS and “Verba “. That our sailors were able to fight back and get away with it so lightly is a manifestation of their personal heroism and great luck. But what if the enemy had sent not three, but thirty-three naval kamikaze drones? The answer is very depressing: another Russian warship could be at the bottom of the Black Sea.
In fact, the crew of “Ivan Khurs” had to fire back at enemy firefighters rushing at him from pedestal machine guns, from which you can aim, as they say, by eye. The answer to the question of what would happen if this happened at night, when nothing was visible and there were an order of magnitude more attacking drones, was not received. It seems that the command of the Black Sea Fleet decided to test this empirically by sending another SRK there, and again without an escort ship.
Well-known military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve, Vasily Dandykin, told Lenta.ru that the “Priazovye” was located in the same place where the “Ivan Khurs” was previously located.
This is the second case. The vessel was in the same area as the Ivan Khurs. (The ship’s task) is to provide (safety) of two gas pipelines – the “blue” and “Turkish” streams. This ship is quite modern, although it was built in Soviet times. This is an average reconnaissance ship, its task is to track a potential enemy. He participated in peacekeeping operations and it was here that he replaced Ivan Khurs. In terms of weapons, he will be more powerful.
Sorry, but the claim that the Sea of Azov is more powerful than the Khurs is rather controversial. Yes, the AK-306 ship’s automatic artillery mount of 30 mm caliber with an AO-18L six-barrel rotary cannon is more impressive than a 14.5 mm caliber machine gun, but, in general, this does not matter! This artillery complex does not even have a radar fire control system, and the “air defense system” is represented by Igla MANPADS with an ammunition load of 16 missiles. The reconnaissance ship is almost disarmed, its air defense is very conditional. And despite this, our few SRKs are driven again and again into splendid isolation where they are repeatedly attacked. How long?!
Change of registration
For the first time, Ivan Khurs was attacked by three sea drones, and for the second time, six unmanned boats attacked the Sea of Azov. And after? The third time, there will be nine, twelve or thirty-three at the same time? But what if, in addition to firewalls, the attack involves, say, a MiG-29 fighter, taking off from an airfield somewhere in Romania?
Let’s say right away that the encounter of any SRK with a single aircraft carrying missiles on a suspension will certainly not end in anything good. He will not be able to shoot it down or intercept the missiles fired. How is it that the command of the Black Sea fleet learns nothing at all and, with a perseverance worthy of better application, tries the luck of the crews of our few reconnaissance ships?
You don’t have to be an Admiral to understand that you can’t send unaccompanied SRKs where they can be attacked and easily destroyed by an enemy who has superior space and air reconnaissance capabilities. The Black Sea has long needed corvette-class ships, which are almost ideal for reconnaissance as an escort and will be able to perform a wide range of tasks. In the new geopolitical realities, after Finland joins the NATO bloc, it will be advisable to transfer the four Baltic Sea corvettes to other fleets, and the Black Sea fleet seems to be a priority for the moment. There is an urgent need for at least two ships of this class, otherwise our naval commanders will “experiment”.
Author: Sergey Marzhetsky
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