Today, on March 5, 2024 russian Sergey Kotov patrol ship of Project 22160 of Black Sea Fleet was attacked by Magura V5 kamikaze maritime drones.
A video published by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine shows a coordinated attack by a "flock" of uncrewed surface vessels (USV) that had attacked russian ship from different directions, consistently hitting its most vulnerable points.
Read more: What Kind of Engineering Force has russia, That Managed to Create Powerful Fortifications in Ukraine
In particular, the first naval drone struck central part, just behind the superstructure, on the port side of the ship, where a power plant of two 16D49 diesel engines of 6000 hp each is located.
According to the video, the second unmanned boat attacks the same area of the ship's hull, but from the starboard side. As a result, russian warship, which was trying to escape from the attack, was left not only motionless, but also with holes in it.
And then process of the final destruction of the already damaged ship was shown. Two more USVs attacked Sergey Kotov, both from the port side. In this case, one of them hits the ship through existing hole.
In particular, the footage shows ship's smashed inner compartment. So, the conclusion can be made that five naval drones are needed to destroy patrol ship of Project 22160.
Ukrainian Intelligence also released an interception of a conversation of the commander of the 184th coastal defense brigade of russian Black Sea Fleet. According to the report, not only ship but also a helicopter was involved in repelling the Ukrainian maritime drone attack, which took place around 1 a.m. It is known that it was russian Ka-27 military helicopter located on the deck of the ship. So that night, russians lost both ship and helicopter.
At the same time, despite the fact that russians knew about possibility of the attack as well as crew was warned, occupiers were unable to avoid the attack.
Later it became known that majority of the crew, about 52 people, were probably rescued. But still, 7 occupiers died as well as 6 were wounded.
A similar tactic was used during a successful attack on the Caesar Kunikov large landing ship on February 14, 2024. That time, Magura V5 naval drones were also attacked in a "pack" as well as finished off the existing holes.
Earlier Defense Express reported about various scenarios of destruction of Crimean bridge by different countries.
Read more: Video of Shahed-136 Production in russia: Massive Scale But Hollow Airframes Instead of Assembled Drones
