Ukraine's US-made Harpoon missiles destroy heavily-armed Russian war vessel in Black Sea

Ukraine’s armed forces launched United States-manufactured Harpoon anti-ship missile that destroyed the Russian Black sea Navy SAR ship"Vasily Bekh" near Zmiinyi [Snake] Island which was loaded with the TOR anti-aircraft missile system. “The big Russian tugboat Vasylyi Bekh, which was carrying the Tor-1 SAM on board, ammunition and personnel for the occupation garrison of Snake Island was destroyed. The tugboat was hit by a Harpoon missile,” Ukraine's Armed Forces Strategic Communications Directorate's informed on Telegram.

It also shared a footage purporting to show the anti-ship missile blowing up the war vessel. No official confirmation or information on damages of the vessel was received from Russia’s side. Harpoon's active radar guidance, warhead design, low-level cruise trajectory, and terminal mode sea-skim manoeuvers assure high survivability and effectiveness in attacking long-range targets and challenging enemy's naval movements. Harpoon missiles are incorporated with Global Positioning System-assisted inertial navigation, which enables the system to have both an anti-ship and a land attack capability. The United States' Harpoon missile has been integrated on F-16 aircrafts and is also presently being integrated on foreign F-15 aircraft.

"This morning, our naval forces struck the Black Sea Fleet support vessel Vasily Bekh, with the TOR anti-aircraft missile system on board. Later it became known that he sank,” head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Maxim Marchenko, said. 

Ukraine Navy destroys heavily-armed Russian war vessel in Black Sea

The Harpoon anti-ship missiles manufactured by Boeing Defence, Space & Security, were recently provided to Ukraine as part of a multi-billion dollar aid package approved by Biden administration. The US Department of Defence also announced supply of truck-mounted Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems (HCDS) to bolster Ukraine’s defences against Russia’s powerful firearms. It would be the first that Ukraine has destroyed a Russian vessel with Western-supplied weapon. In April, the Ukrainian forces sank Russia’s warship Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, using their own Neptune missile.

"Vasily Bekh" tugboat. Credit: Twitter/@OSINT88

Since Moscow’s all-out invasion on February 24, Ukraine’s armed forces have destroyed 1,376 Russian tanks, 3,376 armored combat vehicles, and 14 ships or vessels. Russian Black sea Navy SAR ship Vasily Bekh, armed with Tor-M2 series surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, was commissioned in 2017. At the time it went down, Russian forces were transporting soldiers from the Black Sea Fleet to Snake Island. A Bayraktar TB2 drone recorded the footage. 

Harpoon missile systems on trucks. Credit: Twitter/@Cyberspec1

Ukraine started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and the US, as well as the self-propelled howitzers earlier in May, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said. "The coastal defense of our country will not only be strengthened by Harpoon missiles -- they will be used by trained Ukrainian teams," Reznikov had written on social media. Ukraine's military had been operating Harpoon shore-to-ship missiles alongside Ukrainian Neptune missiles to defend Ukraine's Black Sea, including the southern port of Odesa.

The all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship harpoon missile deploys the active radar homing and is launched above the water from submarines, aircraft, or coastal batteries to evade the enemy's attack. Ukraine also received US-made M109 self-propelled howitzers that now allow Ukraine's military to strike targets from longer distances.

Image: AP