Former U.S. Coast Guard Patrol Boats to Serve Again in the Ukrainian Navy
Ukrainian Navy crews recently completed training on two former U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) patrol boats in Baltimore, Maryland that will be delivered to Ukraine later this year. These are the third and fourth such vessels the USCG has provided to Ukraine under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program in recent years, partly in response to Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.
On March 24, 2014, as part of its attempted annexation of Crimea, Russia seized at least 12 of the 17 ships that Ukraine had based in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, which up until that time was its largest fleet headquarters.
In response to the crisis, Ukraine was forced to withdraw its flagship Hetman Sahaydachniy from the European Union’s counterpiracy Operation Atalanta off the coast of Somalia to defend itself at home.
With the loss of much of its surface fleet, as well as its major bases and installations located in Ukraine’s sovereign territory on the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine is rebuilding its navy with U.S. assistance. Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $2.5 billion in training and equipment to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO. In addition to the Island Class patrol boats, Ukraine is also receiving an initial tranche of eight new armed Mark VI patrol boats under the Foreign Military Sales program that are being procured with a mixture of Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and DoD’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
British minehunting ships to bolster Ukrainian Navy as UK and Norway launch maritime support initiative (11. Dezember 2023)
Two Royal Navy minehunter ships are being transferred from the Royal Navy to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in a move to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to operate at sea.
As the UK and Norway launch a new Maritime Capability Coalition, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will announce the procurement of two Sandown Class mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) by Ukraine through UK Export Finance today in London.
He will be joined by his Norwegian counterpart to jointly launch the Maritime Capability Coalition. Alongside this new initiative, the Defence Secretary will confirm further details of UK military support to Ukraine.
The new maritime coalition will work closely with the Ukrainian Navy and Ministry of Defence to develop a number of capabilities, including the rapid development of a maritime force in the Black Sea, continuing to develop a Ukrainian Marine Corps, and river patrol craft to defend coastal and inland waterways.
Agreed during recent meetings of the 50-nation strong Ukraine Defence Contact Group, it forms part of a series of Capability Coalitions to strengthen Ukraine’s operations in other domains including on land and in the air.
The UK and Norway, together with other international partners, have already helped train hundreds of Ukrainian marines and aim to build on this work.
Keel laid for second Ada-class corvette for Ukrainian Navy (18. August 2023)
A keel-laying ceremony for the second MilGem (Ada)-class corvette under construction for Ukraine was held at RMK Marine's shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, on 18 August.
RMK Marine is building the two Ada-class corvettes under an agreement signed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Turkish Defence Industry Agency (SSB) in December 2020. Turkish engineering company STM has overall responsibility for the programme.
Announcing the latest milestone on social media, the Ukrainian Navy said work was being carried out “on time, in accordance with the schedules and signed contracts”.
Construction on the second ship started on 2 October 2022. Meanwhile, work on first-of-class Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F 211) continues to make progress. Construction on Hetman Ivan Mazepa started in July 2021; it was laid down on 7 September that year and launched alongside the steel-cutting ceremony of the second ship on 2 October 2022.
Ukraine's new ships are based on the Turkish Navy's four 99 m Ada-class corvettes that entered service between 2011 and 2019. Turkey is also building four corvettes for Pakistan under a deal signed in 2018, with the first-of-class scheduled for delivery in 2023.
While details on the Ukrainian ships may be different, the ships in service with the Turkish Navy have a top speed of 29 kt, a standard range of 3,500 n mile at 15 kt, and can carry a crew of 93, with accommodation for an additional 13 personnel. They feature a flight deck and hangar that can accommodate a 10 tonne S70 Seahawk helicopter.
