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Ukraine: Strikes Crimean Naval dockyard , destroying Russian Submarine and Landing ship

(Sevastopol)  Early Wednesday morning (14/09/23) the Ukraine struck 2 naval targets - Rostov-on-don a Kilo type Submarine and the Minsk a Project775 Ropucha-class large landing ship. The targeting was somewhat easy as both were in dry dock undergoing maintenance  for the Rostov-on-don and repairs for the Minsk after it had been damaged by an earlier Ukrainian attack on the 3^rd of August 2023  and so the Ukrainians knew exactly where they were.

New Sevastopol dry dock higher resolution satellite image shows heavy damage on both ships hit; Ropucha landing ship and Kilo submarine.#Sebastopol https://t.co/snrsyfdIY4 pic.twitter.com/xbvVAdhzG5

— Tom Bike (@tom_bike) September 13, 2023

The loss of both ships and the blockage of two major drydocks until both wrecks are cleared will impact on the Russian Navy’s ability to conduct offensive operations for a while.

The loss of the Kilo Submarine will be the largest loss as it is the major launch vehicle for the Kalibr cruise missiles which it has been doing with impunity since the war started in Feb 2022. The Russians started with 2 kilo class submarines in the Black Sea, with usually 1 at sea and the other 1 in dock. The loss of 1 will now impact Moscow ability to launch missiles, not only that but due to Kyiv’s lethal strikes on the Russian fleet in and around Crimea, and after the sinking of the Moskva April 2022 by the use of Anti-Ship missiles, Moscow has relocated most of its Black Sea fleet to the port of Novorossiysk as far away from Ukraine as possible in which to keep them out of harm’s way. That said, the Captain of Krasnodar the other Kilo class submarine in the Black Sea, was gunned down and killed on the 10^th of July 2023 apparently in revenge for the missile launched by his submarine on the Ukrainian city of  Vinnytsia in July 2022 of which killed 27 civilians, including three children.

The loss of the Minsk landing ship, may not be felt now, but if the Ukraine manage to take out the Kursk bridge, then its loss will be felt. Also if the Ukrainian army makes progress in its march towards the sea, it would also allow the Russians to quickly redeploy troops from the sea, but that is something of a guess seeing as of the 6 Project 775 Ropucha-class large landing ships Moscow had in the Black sea at the start of its invasion of Ukraine in Feb 22,1  (Minsk) has been destroyed and another 3 are currently undergoing repairs after been badly damaged by Ukrainian attacks . Meaning the Russians understand only too well how these ships are vulnerable and as we have seen, they have become somewhat adverse to putting them in harms way.

British Army showcases Anti-tank missile Drone

(London) At the 2023 Defence & Security Equipment International show currently taking place in London, many new weapon systems designed from feedback from the ongoing war inside the Ukraine have shown their face for the first time, one such weapon system is the Hydra 400  which is a pioneering new generation of heavy lift drone using hybrid propulsion technology. Compact and portable, the drone can be transported in the back of a Hilux or similar and assembled ready for flight in six minutes. The drone is powered by single spool jet turbines, producing 500N (50kg) thrust providing a maximum lift of 400kg and can be armed with up to 3 Brimstone anti-tank missiles , the British army hopes to have a working prototype carrying out trials by the end of the year and hopefully the weapons system will be taken on strength in 5 years time.

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