Ukraine has reportedly succeeded in destroying Russian Karakurt class corvette Askold.

According to information published by Militarnyi on November 8, 2023, the Ukrainian Air Force has reportedly launched a successful missile strike that destroyed the Russian Karakurt class corvette Askold in Crimea.
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Russian Karakurt class corvette Askold. (Picture source: milinfolive)

The ship, a corvette known by the Project 22800 (Karakurt-class), was hit by a SCALP-EG missile at the "Zaliv" shipyard in Crimea. Explosions were heard in the area of Kerch on the evening of November 4th.

Crimean occupation authorities claimed that Russian air defenses were active around the shipyard, suggesting that fragments of intercepted missiles fell onto the territory of one of the dry docks.

Despite these claims, photographs indicated that the Russian anti-air systems failed to prevent the SCALP-EG missile from striking the ship. The Russian Ministry of Defense later acknowledged that the missile strike had indeed damaged a military vessel.

Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk attributed the successful strike to Ukrainian tactical aviation.

The corvette Askold was initially laid down on November 18, 2015, under factory number 802 at the Kerch "Zaliv" shipyard. Launched on September 21, 2021, it was in the testing phase and was expected to be commissioned by the end of 2023.

About the Karakurt class corvettes

The vessel have a standard displacement of 800 tons and a full displacement of 870 tons. They measures 67.0 meters in length and 11.0 meters in width, with a draft of 4.0 meters. The ship's armoring includes an aluminum armor alloy and armored glass for protection.

Powered by diesel engines, specifically three Zvezda M-507D1 engines and three diesel-generators DGAS-315, they boast a power output of 3 × 8,000 horsepower (5884 kW) and an additional 3 × 315 kW. The propulsion system consists of three shafts with three propellers.

The ships can cruise at an economical speed of 12 knots and can reach a maximum speed of 30 knots. With these capabilities, the corvettes have a cruising range of 2,500 nautical miles at 12 knots and can sustain autonomous operations for 15 days. The crew complement is 39 people.

They are equipped with Mineral-M radar systems, electronic warfare equipment including BIUS "Sigma". For tactical strikes, they features one 8 UKSK VLS cells for Kalibr-NK or Onyx missiles.

The artillery consists of one 76.2 mm AK-176MA and two 12.7 mm Kord machine guns. Anti-aircraft weapons includes two AK-630M CIWS, eight Igla-S or Verba man-portable infrared homing surface-to-air missile, and one Pantsir-ME (on 3 ships).