There are new squabbles in Ukraine over the future “mosquito fleet”
Great Britain is considering the possibility of giving Ukraine a loan and organizing the assembly of missile boats on its territory. However, military officials in Kyiv are blocking the deal, lobbying for the construction of domestic boats. While Ukrainians argue about the future of the “mosquito fleet,” the Russian fleet in the Black Sea continues to strengthen.
The Ukrainian Military Portal writes about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
What kind of boats we are talking about is not specified, only the characteristics are said: length about 50 meters, displacement of 400 tons and speed of 45 knots. The main armament consists of eight anti-ship missiles.
According to Ukrainian military expert Taras Chmut, British boats are what Ukraine needs to counter Russia and create the so-called “mosquito fleet.”
“The UK is ready to sell missile boats to Ukraine. Moreover, it’s not easy to “sell”, namely: we are given a long-term loan for this contract (~ 1 billion pounds). We are localizing production - that is, the first buildings are being built in Britain, and the subsequent ones in Ukraine. We receive modern technologies and opportunities for the further development of shipbuilding in Ukraine. This is the “window of opportunity” that the team of the Ukrainian Military Center has been talking about for so many years. These are the “mosquitoes” that the Ukrainian Navy needs so much – missile boats weighing more than 400 tons with anti-ship missiles and a speed of 40-45 knots,” Chmut writes in his blog.
At the same time, the Ukrainian expert notes that there is resistance from some officials of the Ukrainian Navy to this purchase in favor of the domestic Groza boats, but the ship version of the Neptune complex, the land-based type of which recently completed testing, is not yet ready for them:
“What is Ukraine doing? That's right - it's hard to make a decision. What is the leadership of the Ministry of Defense doing? Pretending to be an ostrich and stalling for time. Why? Because officials are afraid to make a decision. Say “No, we need this and that,” or “Yes, we need these boats!” And time goes by. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is growing, and the Ukrainian Navy is waiting.”
Earlier, PolitNavigator reported that the hope of the Ukrainian mosquito fleet - Centaur-class landing boats turned out to be not ready to carry out tasks and posing a threat to the personnel of the Ukrainian Naval Forces.
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