The United States has offered to transfer decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates to Ukraine as part of the Surplus Property program, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
About it reports “Ukrainian Military Portal”.
According to sources, the US leadership sent, through the military attache, a letter to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on the provision of military-technical assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including for the naval forces.
It is noted that these ships can significantly increase the defense capability of the Ukrainian Navy in the Black and Azov Seas.
Frigates of the Oliver Hazard Perry class were built during 1975-2004. A total of 71 frigates were built at shipyards in the USA, Spain, Australia and Taiwan. In addition to the United States, they are also in service with the navies of Turkey, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, and others.
Developed as missile frigates, which were armed with Mk13 launchers for SM-1MR anti-aircraft guided missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. Due to the removal of SM-1 missiles from US service in 2003, these launchers were dismantled from US Navy frigates.
The frigates are also armed with a 76-mm OTO Melara artillery mount, a 20-mm Phalanx CIWS anti-aircraft artillery mount, and two Mark 32 ASW torpedo tubes (three torpedo launchers each).
Let us recall that after the loss of Crimea, Ukraine also lost most of its military fleet. In Russia's hands were, among other things, the only Ukrainian submarine “Zaporozhye”, the large landing ship “Konstantin Olshansky”, and other ships and boats.
Until the moment when, in the summer of 2014, Russia stopped all negotiations on the return of weapons, equipment and property of the Ukrainian Navy, three warships, 32 support vessels, 1438 units of automobile, armored and special equipment, 24 airplanes and helicopters were withdrawn from Crimea. 11 warships and boats, 6 support vessels and boats, 2363 units of automobile, armored and special equipment, 3 aircraft, 6 coastal anti-ship systems remained in Crimea.
The only Ukrainian frigate “Hetman Sahaidachny” was preserved because it was in Greece during the Crimean events.
After this, Ukraine began the process of restoring its fleet. The United States donated two Island class boats. In addition, two Centaur landing boats are being built in Kyiv.