Ukraine's Sport Plane Bombers May Have Blown A Hole In A Russian Icebreaker
Drones flew 600 miles to strike the shipyard in Vyborg
Ukrainian drones flew hundreds of miles to strike a Russian shipyard
It seems unmanned sport plane bombers took part in the raid on the Vyborg shipyard
A paramilitary icebreaking patrol ship apparently suffered heavy damage
Ukrainian drones flew nearly 600 miles and struck a shipyard in Leningrad Oblast in western Russia. The attack apparently heavily damaged an icebreaking patrol ship belonging to the Russian border security agency, the FSB. Post-raid imagery depicts the 350-foot Project 23550 patrol ship Purga heavily listing at its pier.
The strike marks the first known successful hit on a Russian military ship in the Baltic. The Purga is one of only four Project 23550 armed icebreakers Russia is building to enforce its claim over Arctic shipping routes, and can be armed with Kalibr cruise missiles capable of striking targets 1,200 miles away.
“The Ukrainian Defense Forces will continue to hit important enemy targets both in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and in the territory of the Russian Federation until the armed aggression against Ukraine is completely stopped,” the Ukrainian general staff stated.
Notably, the March 25 attack involved at least one civilian-style sport plane that Ukrainian forces modified into an autonomous bomber. The A-22 and similar E-300 sport plane bombers are the first Ukrainian deep strike drones that can strike targets inside Russia and then return to base—assuming, of course, they don’t crash or get shot down.
Reusable drones can lower the cost of deep strikes.
