The Nature Of The Beast

27 Aug 2017

Russian website inforeactor published a post about the Sea Breeze 2017 naval exercise, held in Ukraine, between 10. and 23. July 2017.

According to the post Turkish submarine TCG Batıray was able succesful ambushing Ukrainian frigate Hetman Sahaidachny and US Navy cruiser USS Hué City.

So, an incidental situation developed during the training search for a submarine in the coastal waters of Odessa. According to the plan of the exercises, the Turkish diesel-electric submarine S349 Batiray lay in ambush, waiting for the passage of a large warship. She was searched by US cruiser CG66 Hue City and the flagship of the Ukrainian fleet, the “Hetman Sagaidachny” frigate. However, already at sea it became clear that both ships were not capable of detecting submarines. On an American vessel, the towed hydroacoustic station was absent, since it was sent for repair. And in general, Americans positioned themselves as observers and advisers. On the Ukrainian ship, the situation was no better – after the “overhaul”, the GAS simply disappeared, and there were no others in the warehouses. Almost 7 hours the flotilla was looking for a Turkish submarine, until it was decided to lift the aircraft into the air. But even here the Americans did not use their equipment, leaving the search for the conscience of the Mi-14PL. On board the Ukrainian helicopter still preserved several sonar buoys, but they were without power supplies. As a result, the search was carried out purely theoretically. “Intruder” was discovered only after ascending to periscope depth….

TCG Batıray is an old submarine in service since 1978. She represents the first generation of Type 209 boats in service. Never the less, TCG Batıray being a conventional submarine and a knowing the area well has a distinct advantage against Hetman Sahaidachny and USS Hué City. The former is a Krivak III class frigate originally constructed for Soviet Border Guard forces. She is old and desperately needs replacement, something Ukraine currently can’t afford. USS Hué City is a Ticonderoga class cruiser, primary an air / ballistic missile defence ship with better underwater sensors than Ukrainian frigate.

This year Sea Breeze exercise did not had a predetermined scenario. This year the exercise was held in a “free play” mode. Thus Turkish submarine took the necessary actions to hide itself and hunt its targets.

The Russian is a blatant propaganda site. They published this post not to praise Turkish Navy but to ridicule the Ukrainian Navy and it’s largest supporter US Navy. But to be honest what else could be the outcome of the described encounter? That is the nature of the submarine warfare.