According to the video released by the Ukrainian Navy, the ships appeared to be in good condition, well-painted, with active radars and some systems operational, including the Smart S Mk 2 air surveillance radar, Gökdeniz Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), and navigational radar. However, the helicopter platform does not seem ready for flight tests yet.
Around 40 days ago, on May 30, 2024, Hetman Ivan Mazepa was first spotted in the Sea of Marmara for sea trials. Naval News asked STM, the primary contractor of Ukraine’s corvette project, and confirmed that Hetman Ivan Mazepa started official sea trials.
While the weapons and sensors suite has not been officially announced, the video provides some clues. The corvette is fitted with a Leonardo 76 mm Super Rapid gun with a stealth cupola, 35mm Gökdeniz CIWS.
Small uplink antennas on the aft side are likely for the guidance of the VL MICA surface-to-air missile system. Ukrainian media initially reported that VL MICA missiles by MBDA, launched from a vertical launch system (VLS), would serve as the Corvette’s air defence system. During IDEF 2023, Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkiye, confirmed to Naval News that France would supply these missiles.
Similar to the ADA-class, the air surveillance radar is the Smart-S Mk 2, with the ARES-2 ESM located under the radar. Hetman Ivan Mazepa also features a fire control radar, either the STIR 1.2 EO Mk2 or the Aselsan AKR-D fire control radar.
Radio Svoboda, a Ukrainian news outlet, had claimed on 09 August 2021, that the Ukraine Defense Ministry revealed that the corvettes will be equipped with Harpoon anti-ship missiles as their primary strike system. Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister stated that the country was considering the indigenous Neptune anti-ship missile, as well as the Harpoon, Atmaca, and Naval Strike Missile.
Turkiye and Ukraine signed a military cooperation agreement on 16 October 2020, outlining the parties’ intentions to launch and implement joint projects to construct warships, unmanned aerial vehicles, and all types of turbine engines.
Turkiye was supposed to build two corvettes for the Ukrainian Navy under the terms of the agreement, however, Mr. Bodnar stated in the interview that they may procure four corvettes within the scope of the project. Turkiye’s RMK Marine Shipyard launched Ukraine’s first Ada-class corvette, Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F-211), in Istanbul on 02 October 2022.
It was initially planned that the ship would be towed to Ukraine with partial equipment for completion by the end of 2022. In the course of 2023, the corvette was to be equipped with the necessary equipment and armament, and government tests were to begin. However due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the fate of the implementation of these plans is unknown.
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