Ukraine's Best Naval Asset At Sea

The sea trials video was released by the Ukrainians on 5th July. Hetman Ivan Mazepa is a relatively large Ada-class corvette of Turkish origin - with a displacement of 2,400 tonnes. Visually, these vessels somewhat resemble the American LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) but are sleeker and much better armed than them.

Turkey has been building these vessels since 2005, but it was only in 2018-2019 that the third and fourth ships entered Turkish service, and these can be considered to be fully mature. The Turks have also managed to export similar vessels to Pakistan, which has built four Ada-class-based vessels at its shipyards. Given minor design differences, these warships are also referred to as Badur-class. In addition to this, an unspecified Middle Eastern customer decided to purchase four Ada vessels in 2023, and Malaysia decided to purchase three in 2024.

Ukraine decided on Ada-class vessel procurement following Pakistan but before the decision made by the other export customers. The relevant agreement was signed in December 2020 as part of Turkish-Ukrainian technical-military cooperation. Ankara and Kyiv were to cooperate on shipbuilding, drones and jet engines. Ukraine supposedly paid USD 256 million for two Ada-class ships. It was anticipated that the yet-to-be-completed vessels would be towed to the Okean shipyard in Mykolaiv, where they were to be retrofitted. Interestingly, the Ukrainian aerospace company Motor Sich was to design a special maritime variant of the Mi-2 helicopter with these ships in mind. Of course, due to the war, there was no question of any transfer to Ukraine, so the Turks would complete the work on two ordered vessels by themselves.

The vessel has been designed as a stealth one, with lower RCS. It features a broad, versatile set of weapons. ASW and ASuW capabilities are the core elements.

Two 324mm calibre twin-tube torpedo launchers capable of firing US-made light torpedoes are to be used for anti-submarine warfare, along with two countermeasure decoy dispensers. To conduct underwater warfare, »Hetman Ivan Mazepa« has a sonar system integrated, that probably comes in the form of a proprietary solution developed by the Turkish company ONUK-BG Defence Systems.

Surface targets can be countered, primarily with the use of eight RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, although it is mentioned that the Ukrainian corvettes may be equipped with Naval Strike Missiles instead, or that there will be the possibility of using them interchangeably with the Harpoons. Interestingly, the Ukrainians have not opted for Turkish-made missiles here. Technical considerations may have been at play here, but Harpoons have been produced in mass quantities numbers and given to Kyiv as war aid.

In addition, the ship also features a 76mm OTO Melara Super Rapid naval automatic cannon and two Turkish STEMP weapon stations, featuring .50-cal. machine guns. The guns also include the Turkish Gökdeniz self-defence system, made by Aselsan and fitter with two 35mm cannons. Self-defence against the airborne threat is likely to be provided by French MICA VL missiles in two vertical launchers, and four compartments in each VLS.

The »Hetman Ivan Mazepa’s’ electronics package is a mixture of Turkish and French solutions. The suite includes the Thales Sting EO Mk2 fire control radar, or Aselsan AKR-D, Aselsan satellite communications system, ARES-2N electronic warfare system, Mk 36 SRBOC jamming system, ALPER tactical navigation radar and SMART-S Mk2 3D radar for detecting air targets.

Sea trials mean that the corvette’s entry into service is a matter of the next few months. Even so, it is highly doubtful that the vessel will take part in the war. Turkey closed the Dardanelles Straits in 2022 and, in accordance with international law, does not allow ships of either warring side through.

In this situation, it seems that »Herman Mazepa« will wait in Turkey for the completion of the second corvette »Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky«. The latter was launched two years later and its entry into service is likely to take place in 2026. Thus, it cannot be ruled out that the corvettes will return as a single naval group already after the end of the conflict, significantly strengthening the Ukrainian Navy.