Social media post honouring the Day of Ukraine’s Armed Forces shows what appears to be Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F-211) corvette with VL MICA launchers at stern.
One of the MİLGEM corvettes built for Ukraine was seen in the video posted by the official account of the Ukrainian Navy. The corvette, thought to be Hetman Ivan Mazepa, the lead ship of Ukraine’s subclass of MİLGEM corvettes, is seen with vertical launchers for MBDA VL MICA short-range air defence missiles.
Ukraine’s MİLGEM corvettes have been planned to use the missiles for a point defence role on top of the GÖKDENİZ 100/35/StA CIWS to provide a more comprehensive protection. The launchers are placed on a stern platform, right behind the CIWS/PDMS slot. A similar layout will be used for Malaysia’s LMS Batch 2 corvettes, also based on MİLGEM design.
VL MICA missiles are available in RF and IIR seeker variants, with a maximum range of 20 km. It is unclear if Ukraine will use the more capable VL MICA NG missiles, with the RF seeker variant stated to double the previous range and incorporate an AESA seeker.
Ukraine is expected to receive four MİLGEM corvettes in total. Formerly, the planned count was two ships, but this was doubled by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers a year ago. The second ship Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi (F-212) was launched by RMK Marine.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor: Özgür Ekşi
