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Second Update: Flash Report 15 SEP 2023 - 14:00 PDT - Russian Bora Class Corvette Sumum Damaged
🕑 Added 2023-09-15 20:59:31 +0000 UTCOn September 14, 2023, insurgents in Sevastopol that documented activity of the Black Sea Fleet photographed a Bora class corvette departing the port. There were only two Project 1239 Bora Class vessels built. The Bora and the Sumum. Produced in the late Cold War, the ending of the project was caused due to over-engineering and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Bora has similar issues to the LLS Azov and spends most of its time at repair docks. The Sumum spends more time on patrol. The Bora class was darn close to a wonder weapon when it was introduced at the end of the Cold War. It is heavily armed and can travel at up to 55 knots (115 kph, or 63 freedom units, err mph)!
Several hours after a Bora Class vessel was visually confirmed leaving Sevastopol, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Sumum was attacked by an uncrewed surface vessel, likely a Mk.5 SeaBaby USV. They also claimed that the drone was intercepted and the ship was undamaged. That was reported in the September 14, 2023, Situation Report.
UPDATE: Ukrainian officials confirm it was a Mk.5 SeaBaby USV.
Satellite images from September 15, shared by analyst MT Anderson, show that the Bora and the Sumum are at the repair dock.
There is overwhelming evidence that the Sumum suffered mission kill damage. Whether that is light or moderate is unknown.
UPDATE TWO: We have very solid intelligence that the Sumum (also spelled Samum) was struck shortly after leaving Sevastopol, which aligns with the photo evidence. The corvette was hit on the starboard side aft and lost propulsion on the starboard side. The Sumum was towed back to Sevastopol and is in the flooded part of the north dry dock.
The damage is reportedly repairable under normal circumstances, but manpower and resources are strained with the rapidly rising number of Black Sea vessels under repair.
Comments
Thanks for the good news and details! It sounds like the ship was hit from behind. No matter its top speed, it was not going fast enough at the time to outrun a SeaBaby Mk. 5 (is there any info on how fast those can go?) In any event, Ukraine is doing surprisingly well against many types of ships. I bet Taiwan is taking notes and China might be having a few second thoughts. More reasons to say Slava Ukraini! (Edited to fix a typo: replaced “send thoughts” with “second thoughts”.)
Luke
Lol. Lmao.
