In the night of May 19, the Ukrainian Armed Forces sank another ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the sinking of the minesweeper "Kovrovets" during the strike on Sevastopol. According to official data, this is the 27th destroyed Russian military vessel — but there may be another one.
It is reported that "Kovrovets" was sunk with the help of two ATACMS missiles provided by the United States. A two-ton missile is usually not an anti-ship weapon. According to sources, ATACMS with inertial guidance has an accuracy of up to 9 meters — not precise enough for naval combat.
Some missile models, such as M39 and M-39A1, are cassette-type — they scatter hundreds of grenade-sized projectiles, which help to hit targets. This also increases the radius of destruction and can damage objects around the target. The defeat of "Kovrovets" with ATACMS could mean that Ukraine has received the M48 modification (over 270 km) or M57 (over 300 km) with warheads weighing 213 kg in addition to M39 and M39A1. These missiles are more accurate and overall more precise than what military observers thought.
Minesweeper "Kovrovets," project 266M "Aquamarine"
- Displacement — 800 tons
- Length — 61 m
- Width — 10.2 m
- Speed — up to 16.5 knots
- Range — 2000 nautical miles
- Autonomous navigation — 10 days
- Crew — 68 people
The ship is armed with two AK-230 30mm gun mounts, two 2M-3M gun mounts, MTPU "Stinger" under the DShK machine gun, 8 Strela-3 MANPADS (16 missiles), two RBU-1200 rocket launchers, seven KMD-1000 bottom mines.
The defeat of the ship with ATACMS means that Sevastopol is effectively unsuitable for basing Russian ships. This is also due to the failures of the S-400 air defense systems, which defend Sevastopol and the neighboring Belbek airbase, and failed to neutralize the missiles.
Precise ATACMS with new warheads can pose a significant threat to the Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects southern Russia with occupied Crimea. The same accuracy that allows M48 or M57 to hit a ship also allows them to hit the bridge.
“ATACMS creates a serious change, making a key war territory unusable: Crimea,” said Phillip O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
However, "Kovrovets" may not be the only Russian ship hit in this attack. First, Russian channels, and then Ukrainian sources, mention another one — the small missile ship "Cyclone." In fact, it was the last carrier of Russian cruise missiles in Crimea.
Officially, the head of the United Coordination Press Center of the Armed Forces of Southern Ukraine, Dmitry Pletenchuk, talks about the possibility of its loss, but this information needs verification.
“Apparently, the entire crew was hit. They are very shocked now... We are currently verifying the rest of the information. But of course, there is a possibility that the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea has lost the last carrier of cruise missiles,” he said.
Ship "Cyclone" belongs to the "Karackurt" project
- Displacement — 800 tons
- Length — 67 m
- Width — 11 m
- Speed — up to 30 knots
- Range — 2500 nautical miles
- Autonomous navigation — 15 days
- Crew — up to 70 people
The ship is armed with a 3S14 vertical launch system with 8 cells for "Kalibr-NK" missiles, an automatic universal gun mount AK-176MA 76.2 mm, two 30mm AK-630M gun mounts, and the "Pantsir-ME" MANPADS.
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