"Pack attack": Defence Express reveals details of Russian ship Sergei Kotov's sinking

Oleh Katkov, military expert and editor-in-chief of Defence Express, shared the information on Espreso TV.

"It was a pack attack, aimed at targeting critical points of the ship. First, a drone targeted the engine room, rendering escape impossible. Subsequently, a methodical assault ensued from multiple directions, alternating between left and right sides. Following this, two additional drones consecutively struck the same location. The first drone created an opening, while the second drone targeted the same spot to enlarge the breach," he said.

According to Katkov, sinking a ship like the Sergei Kotov would require 5 kamikaze naval drones.

"This is a rather small number, given the cost of such a ship, its size and the fact that it is still a patrol warship. That is, five kamikaze marine drones are needed, even if this ship is under the cover of ground-based radar control systems," he said.

According to the military expert, the ship's crew was informed that it would be attacked.

"The Russian radar reconnaissance means are still working. They likely spotted Ukrainian unmanned kamikaze drones and the ship was warned. But five drones calmly sank it, destroyed it," Katkov added.

The autonomy of such drones is significant enough to objectively attack targets located throughout the Black Sea, he noted.

"In 2023, one of these drones attacked a Russian ship in the southern part of the Black Sea, not far from Istanbul. Also, a marine drone hit the Olenegorskiy Gornyak landing ship in Novorossiysk. That is, the capability of such drones really allows us to cover the entire territory of the Black and Azov Seas, of course, when the time comes for such a task," Katkov said.

For reference. Sergey Kotov is the third serial patrol ship of the 22160 project, which joined the Russian Black Sea Fleet on July 30, 2022. Sea trials of the Sergei Kotov began at the end of October 2021.

• On the night of Tuesday, March 5, the Ukrainian military destroyed the Russian Navy patrol ship Sergei Kotov in the temporarily occupied Crimea using naval drones. There are dead and wounded among the crew.