Corvette “Hetman Mazepa”
Photo: wikimedia.org
KP.RU asked Vasily Dandykin, a captain of the first rank of the reserve, a military expert, to comment on the February statements by senior Kiev representatives about strengthening Ukraine’s naval forces by supplying Western ships not only armored, but also corvettes and even a submarine.
– In the real world, are there possible options for the supply of independent submarines and large surface ships?
– If you take decent ships, the Turks build them for Ukraine. They have already built the first corvette. When it was handed over, representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were present. They called him “Hetman Mazepa.”
– Serious boat?
– In terms of characteristics, we can compare with the corvettes of our project 20385. It carries decent missile weapons. Displacement of more than 2 thousand tons. kyiv ordered three units of such corvettes, with their completion in Nikolaev.
– What is the setup?
– In view of equipping them there with shipboard weapons. In fact, the Turks threw away the hull. And taking into account that these ships can return to their home ports, according to the Turkish understanding. That is, they can go to the Mediterranean, but they will not be able to return through the Turkish Strait.
– Do the Turks build corvettes for Ukraine in their shipyards in the Mediterranean, not in the Black Sea?
– Yes. Plus, they build pretty fast. But what supply decisions can they make given their relationship with Russia? When can we take these ships as a legitimate target for us? And what will they bet on him in Nikolaev?
– That is, the independents still cannot pick up this corvette for rearm?
– The representatives of Ukraine were at the time of its release, it is still in the water, but … In general, Turkey is now making two more ship hulls. And this project was financed, most likely, by Great Britain. There are also minesweepers from Great Britain. But again the question is how to transfer them to Ukraine?
– And how?
– Through the straits, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, most likely they will not pass. But minesweepers could pass along the Danube. There the Germans even sawed small ships and small submarines. After all, they have a small draft, 2-3 meter draft. This is with respect to minesweepers from 800 to 1000 tons. After all, our small missile boats (RTO) quietly pass along the Volga-Don Canal, through the Don and the Azov Sea, into the Black Sea. But the bigger ships will remain in the Baltic Fleet and the Northern Fleet for now.
– As a result, what can the Ukrainian fleet count on?
– In small boats that can go down the Danube from Europe. Even with rocket weapons. Also, by the way, orders for them in Great Britain and the United States were large. As well as underwater drones. That they have already proven against us. Ours in the Sevastopol Bay have already destroyed, intercepted and, it seems, managed to study.
– That is, kyiv should not have submarines?
– Turkey itself does not make submarines yet. And Ankara will not allow French or German submarines through the Bosphorus. Well, Sweden also makes submarines. But with a displacement of 1,500 tons or more along the river system, such a submarine is unlikely to pass through Europe into Ukraine.
