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The Hetman Ivan Mazepa Ada-class corvette of the Ukrainian Armed Forces / Screenshot credit: Ukrainian Navy

Ukrainian Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details

The Hetman Ivan Mazepa Ada-class corvette of the Ukrainian Armed Forces / Screenshot credit: Ukrainian Navy

The Ukrainian variant of Ada class corvette turned out more powerful than the Turkish original

Thanks to the extremely detailed video published by the Ukrainian Navy Command, featuring the first sail of the Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette, we can now closely examine the ship's design and equipment configuration. As shown, most of the external systems are already installed on the vessel.

Notably, the configuration of the Ukrainian version of the Turkish Ada MILGEM class corvette differs from those chosen by the Turkish and Pakistani navies. While the main situational awareness tool — the SMART-S radar from Thales, with a viewing range of up to 250 km and manufactured under license by the Turkish Aselsan — remains unchanged, the rest of the ship's sensors vary significantly.

Read more: First Footage of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, Ukraine's Only Warship-To-Be, Was Released By The Navy
Thales SMART-S radar on Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette for Ukraine / Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Thales SMART-S radar on Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette for Ukraine / Screenshot credit: Ukrainian Navy

In particular, the Ukrainian corvette has an additional signal intelligence system, hidden under radomes, which is absent on the Turkish ships. The Pakistani version, such as the F280 Babur launched in August 2021, also features less developed systems. Generally, ships of this class are equipped with the ARES-2N electronic support measures system from Aselsan.

For comparison: sensor complex on the Ada-class F514 TCG Kınalıada of the Turkish Navy / Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
For comparison: sensor complex on the Ada-class F514 TCG Kınalıada of the Turkish Navy / Open-source photo

The air defense system on the Ukrainian version is also more advanced than the original Turkish version. The Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette is equipped with a Gokdeniz 35mm anti-aircraft gun, a naval version of Aselsan's Korkut.

This gun can destroy air threats within a 4 km range, boasting an impressive rate of fire of 1,100 shots per minute and the ability to fire airburst rounds, which are particularly effective against smaller drones and anti-ship missiles.

Gokdeniz AA gun on Ukraine's Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette / Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Gokdeniz AA gun on Ukraine's Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette / Screenshot credit: Ukrainian Navy

However, the primary air defense system of the ship is the French MICA VL missile system. Eight vertical launchers for these missiles are located between the anti-aircraft gun and the funnel. These missiles, featuring infrared or radar homing heads, can intercept incoming threats at a maximum range of 20 km and a maximum altitude of 9 km.

MICA VL launchers on Ukraine's Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette / Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
MICA VL launchers on Ukraine's Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette / Screenshot credit: Ukrainian Navy

In contrast, the Turkish version of the Ada-class corvette integrates the American RIM-116 air defense system, with a range of 9 km and a significant dead zone above it. The Pakistan Navy has armed its ships with 12 launchers for the more capable Albatross NG missiles, the naval version of the CAMM-ER, with a range of 40 to 50 km.

To accommodate these, they had to add another section behind the gun, resulting in the Pakistani version being longer (108.8 meters vs. the standard 99.5 meters) and having a greater displacement (2,888 tons vs. ~2,400 tons).

Pakistan Navy Ada-class F280 Babur / Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Pakistan Navy Ada-class F280 Babur / Photo credit: Anadolu

Additionally, the Ukrainian corvette's self-defense measures include two STAMP remote-controlled weapon stations with 12.7-mm machine guns from Aselsan. These modern systems feature autonomous target tracking and serve as the last line of defense or a counter to asymmetric threats.

Aselsan STAMP RCWS on Ukraine's Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette / Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Aselsan STAMP RCWS on Ukraine's Ada-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette / Screenshot credit: Ukrainian Navy, reference photo credit: Aselsan

Hidden from view are the underwater TBT-01 Yakamoz hydroacoustic system, the anti-torpedo jamming system, and the torpedo launchers — all the anti-submarine warfare essentials. The video also shows the ship without an anti-submarine helicopter, a crucial and costly element of the corvette's overall combat capability.

Furthermore, the type of anti-ship missile the Ukrainian corvette will be equipped with remains an open question. Currently, we can only see versatile installations for launch containers, which tell nothing about the specific weapons that will be installed there subsequently.

Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
Defense Express / Ukranie's Ada Class Corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa's Equipment in All Details
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