AEROSPACE & DEFENSE • EDITORS' PICK

The Russian Frigate ‘Admiral Makarov’ Might Be The Juiciest Target In The Black Sea

David Axe Forbes Staff
I write about ships, planes, tanks, drones, missiles and satellites.

May 6, 2022, 02:09am EDT



'Admiral Makarov.' RUSSIAN NAVY PHOTO

After the dramatic sinking of the missile-cruiser Moskva by a Ukrainian missile battery on April 14, the Russian Black Sea Fleet is down to just three major surface combatants. The best and most important of them might be the new missile-frigate Admiral Makarov.

And that makes the 409-foot Admiral Makarov perhaps the most valuable target for Ukrainian missile crews and drone operators. We don’t know how many of its best Neptune anti-ship missiles the Ukrainian navy has left or whether Kyiv’s TB-2 drones are hunting for the Russian frigate or her Black Sea sisters.

On Thursday and Friday there were reports the Ukrainians had landed a blow with a Neptune and the frigate was on fire. There was no immediate hard evidence to back up the rumors, although one blurry video that circulated online does seem to depict a warship in flames.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

{snip}