Attack on Russian tanker: advantages of Ukrainian surface kamikaze drones over specialized anti-ship missiles

Defense Express mentions the video of the attack which was carried out by a surface kamikaze drone. The journalists assume that the drone is most likely the same model as the one that disabled the large Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak in Novorossiysk.

This video clearly demonstrates that Ukrainian surface kamikaze drones have certain advantages over specialised anti-ship missiles. And it is certainly not only about the range, as the attack obviously required covering more than 600 km, but also about the selection of targets.

For example, the operator who directly controls the drone guides it along the side of the ship, which allows him to accurately identify the vessel, and then directs it precisely to the engine room. As a result, according to the Russians themselves, there was no fuel spill and no injuries, but the vessel lost its momentum due to damage and flooding of the power plant. The latter is clearly visible in the photo from the tanker itself:

If an anti-ship missile had been used, there was no way to accurately identify the target, as the radar homing head would have simply selected the largest target that would have fit the predefined signature. It would also not have been able to hit the tanker with such a fine-tuned weapon.

In other words, it was a balanced strike of the required force with minimised collateral damage, although the possibility of completely destroying the entire tanker with a strike in the centre of the side was much easier.

But of course, if necessary, there is also such a possibility, because according to MarinTraffic, the density of tankers in the north-eastern part of the Black Sea is as follows:

And the export of oil and other petroleum products through the Black Sea is of great economic importance to Russia. Therefore, the number of targets for such attacks is more than significant, even if we count only Russian-flagged tankers.

It should be noted that the Sig tanker is based in St. Petersburg, was built in 2014, has a deadweight of 6619 tonnes and a length of 141 metres.