When in 2014, Russian troops invaded the Crimea, they quickly captured the port facilities of the Ukrainian Navy and Ukrainian many of the outdated warships of the Soviet model.
After completing the annexation from Ukraine there is only one large warship — the frigate “Hetman Sahaidachny” in length 123, 5 meters and a few dozen smaller ships.
The Ukrainian Navy, hopelessly lagged number of ships from the Russian Navy launched a program of urgent re-equipment, for the purchase of patrol boats in several classes with artillery weapons. But during the next war with Ukraine, Russia should not worry about these patrol boats with artillery weapons — it should cause concern anti-ship missiles, which Kiev plans to buy.
The Ukrainian Navy intend to purchase patrol boats at least three types. First, this boats class “Viper-M”, which will be built in the Ukrainian enterprise. Kiev is planning to build 20 of the 23-meter patrol ships, each of which will be installed at the two fighting module with 30-millimeter cannon, but as of 2020, he built only seven. After the incident, which occurred in November 2018 in Russia controlled the Kerch Strait connecting the Black sea and the smaller sea of Azov, two such boats were arrested and two years were in Russia.
Meanwhile, within the overall package of military assistance in the amount of $ 1.5 billion Washington gave Kiev, two retired patrol boats from the U.S. coast guard class “island” (Island) with a length of 34 feet, with one 25-mm cannon and two patrol boats class “mark VI” (Mark VI), with a length of 26 meters with two 25 mm guns.
And in June, the Pentagon announced the possible sale of Ukraine 16 boats class “mark VI” for $ 600 million. Besides Kiev and Washington are negotiating the transfer of three more boats of a class “island”.
After receipt of all boats in combat ships of the Ukrainian Navy may enter one frigate and a few dozen modern patrol boats.
But even these advanced forces can not compete with the black sea fleet of the Russian Navy, armed with a missile cruiser, a large anti-submarine ship, five missile boats, seven submarines and two dozen patrol boats. Not to mention the reinforcement that the Russian Navy could deploy in the Black sea through the Bosphorus.
Soberly assessing the situation, and no one suggests that in wartime Ukrainian Navy directly clashed with the Russian Navy. Navy Kiev not designed for this. In fact, all of these patrol boats represent mobile nodes in the system alerts on the marine environment, including coastal observatories, ground-based radars and small unmanned aerial vehicles.
In other words, these ships are part of the detection system. This detection system will soon be able to transmit data to the division of road-mobile anti-ship missile systems. Russia should not worry about the patrol ships, and missiles.
Because missiles don’t care where they run. If for Ukraine to launch anti-ship missiles from land cheaper and easier than to expand the fleet vulnerable missile patrol boats, why would Ukraine not to abandon an expensive program of building warships in favor of buying a cheap truck with a set of somewhat less cheap cruise missiles?
Ukrainian design Bureau “Luch” develops anti-ship missile P-360 complex “Neptune”. The rocket fire began in 2019. State tests of the complex continued in June.
As stated in the government of Ukraine, “missile complex “Neptun” is designed to engage hostile ships class destroyer, frigate, Corvette, troop and tank landing ships and transports of the enemy, acting both independently and as part of a separate ship groups and amphibious forces, coastal Radiocontrast targets in simple and adverse weather conditions in any time of the day and the time of year when active fire and electronic counteraction of the enemy.”
Stealth missile “Neptun” system with radar guidance can hit ships at a distance up to 280 kilometers, this means that from its own territory, Ukraine may create a threat of a missile strike on targets about half of the Black sea. Depending on the amount of battery “Neptune”, which will deploy to Ukraine, it may turn the region into an imminent missile “trap” for Russian ships.
“Missiles of the Neptune project are promising Ukrainian development in the case of mass production can be a significant deterrent weapons” — say in the Ukrainian government
