Ukrainian Naval Aviation

The Ukrainian Naval Aviation (Ukrainian: Морська Авіація, romanized: Morska Aviatsiya) is a component of the Ukrainian Navy.

Ukrainian Naval Aviation
Морська Авіація
Sleeve patch of the UNA
FoundedApril 5, 1992
CountryUkraine
BranchNavy
TypeNaval aviation
RoleFleet reconnaissance, patrolling coasts for enemy ships and submarines
Size2,500
Garrison/HQOchakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Oleh Zahurskyi
Insignia
Ukrainian Navy Ensign
Roundel
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Multirole helicopterWestland Sea King
PatrolKa-27, Be-12
ReconnaissanceBayraktar TB2
TrainerAn-2
TransportAn-12, An-24, An-26, Mi-8, Mi-14PL, Ka-226

During the breakup of the Soviet Union, significant portions of the Soviet Naval Aviation were based in Ukraine, which were intended to support the Black Sea Fleet. These forces included the 2nd Guards Maritime Missile Aviation Division (Gvardeyskoye, Crimean Oblast), with three regiments of maritime attack Tu-22M2s (5th, 124th at Gvardeskoye, Crimean Oblast and the 943rd at Oktyabrskoye), and the 30th independent Maritime Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment (Saki-Novofedorovka, Crimean Oblast) of Tu-22Ps.[1]

In the second half of 1997, when Ukraine and Russia agreed on how to split the Black Sea Fleet, Ukraine received 12 planes and 30 helicopters.[2]

History
A Ukrainian Navy Mi-14

Ukraine inherited large naval aviation units from the Soviet Union. These included large aircraft such as the Tupolev Tu-142 and Tupolev Tu-22M, however these were scrapped under the Budapest Memorandum. Fighters such as the Mig-29 were either decommissioned due to budgetary reasons or transferred to the air force.

The remaining inventory included transport, attack, and anti-submarine warfare helicopters, as well as numerous transport aircraft. Ukraine's naval units, along with some aviation units participated in several deployments such as Operation Atalanta and Operation Ocean Shield.[3]

A Royal Navy Sea King helicopter, the same model now used by the Ukrainian Naval Aviation

2014 Crimean crisis

During the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Ukrainian naval aviation managed to get a number of its aircraft and helicopters airborne from its Novofedorivka airbase to fly to bases in mainland Ukraine on 5 March. This included one Kamov Ka-27PL and three Mil Mi-14PL maritime helicopters, and one Beriev Be-12 amphibian and two Antonov An-26 transports.[4]

More than a dozen aircraft and helicopters, which were undergoing maintenance, had to be left behind. The long-term sustainability of the Ukrainian Navy's surviving helicopters is uncertain after the pro-Russian administration in Crimea nationalised all state owned enterprises, including the Sevastopol Aviation Enterprise, which had provided long-term maintenance and overhaul of the service's helicopters.[4]

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 7 May, Ukraine confirmed that Colonel Ihor Bedzay, the deputy commander of the Ukrainian Navy, was killed in action. His Mi-14PS was shot down by a Russian Sukhoi Su-35.[5][6] The Ukrainian Navy also operates the Baykar Bayraktar TB2 drone along with the Ukrainian Air Force.[7] In November 2022 it was revealed by the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that 3 former Royal Navy Sea King helicopters would be sent to Ukraine, to provide anti-submarine warfare and combat search and rescue (CSAR) capabilities.[8]

Organization

10th Naval Aviation Brigade

All naval aircraft in service are controlled by the 10th Naval Aviation Brigade in Mykolaiv.

  • 10th Naval Aviation Brigade, Mykolaiv
    • Headquarters & Headquarters Company
    • Air Squadron
    • Helicopter Squadron
    • Signal & Radio-technical Support Battalion
    • Airfield & Technical Support Battalion
    • Aviation Technical & Operational Engineering
    • Helicopter Technical & Operational Engineering
    • CSAR Company
    • Logistic Company
    • Meteorological Company
    • Engineer Platoon
    • Security Platoon

One Kamov Ka-27 helicopter is stationed on the Hetman Sahaidachnyi (a Krivak III-class frigate). The frigate can however carry a maximum of two helicopters.

A Ukrainian Ka-27 lands aboard the USS Donald Cook during exercise Sea Breeze 2015
A Ukrainian Navy Bayraktar TB2

Equipment

Current inventory

Note: Due to ongoing events, the following information may be considered outdated. The information listed below was accurate as of February 2022.

Aircraft Image Origin Type Variant NATO reporting name In service Notes
Maritime Patrol
Beriev Be-12 Chayka  Soviet Union Maritime patrol aircraft Be-12PS Mail 2[9] Amphibious search and rescue aircraft.
Transport
Antonov An-26  Soviet Union Transport aircraft An-26B-100 Curl-A 2[9]
Antonov An-2  Soviet Union Military transport aircraft An-2T Colt 2[10] Transferred from the Ukrainian Air Force and used primarily for training purposes.
Helicopters
Mil Mi-14  Soviet Union Anti-submarine helicopter Mi-14PL Haze-A 4[9]
Mil Mi-8  Soviet Union Transport helicopter Mi-8MSB Hip-E 2[11] modernized by Motor Sich.
Kamov Ka-27  Soviet Union Anti-submarine helicopter Ka-27PV Helix-D 4[9]
Kamov Ka-29  Soviet Union Assault transport armored helicopter Ka-29TB Helix-B
Kamov Ka-226  Russia Light utility helicopter Hoodlum 1[9]
Westland Sea King  United Kingdom Anti-submarine warfare, medium-lift transport and utility helicopter Sea King HU.5[12] 3[13] On November 23, 2022, Ben Wallace, announced that 3 former Royal Navy Sea King helicopters would be sent to Ukraine as a military aid, with the first of the three (XZ920) having already been delivered.[14][15] On January 21, 2023, Oleksii Reznikov shared a video of the Ukrainian Navy training which showed a Sea King painted in Ukrainian livery for the first time.[16][13] The second Sea King (ZA166) was delivered in December 2022, with the third (ZA134) arriving in May 2023.[17]
Combat Drones
Baykar Bayraktar TB2  Turkey Umanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) TB2 6[18][19] 4 on order to be delivered by the end of 2022.[20]

Retired aircraft
Aircraft Image Origin Type Variant NATO reporting name Year of withdrawal Fate
Flying boats
Beriev Be-6  Soviet Union Maritime patrol aircraft Madge 1992 "43 YELLOW" now is on display in the exposition of the Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum of Ukraine.[21]

This is one of four aircraft of this type preserved in the world (the other three are kept in museums in Beijing, Qingdao and Safonovo).

Combat aircraft
Mikoyan MiG-29  Soviet Union Multirole combat aircraft MiG-29A Fulcrum ?
Sukhoi Su-25 Grach  Soviet Union Attack aircraft Su-25UTG Frogfoot 2007 The Ukrainian Naval Aviation inherited two single -25UTG after the breakup of the USSR, one sold to China and the other to Russia in 2007.
Yakovlev Yak-38  Soviet Union VTOL attack aircraft YAK-38M Forger-A 1992 Ukraine adopted a small number of Yak-38s, since maintenance was too expensive and impractical, the aircraft were given to museums
Bomber planes
Tupolev Tu-22  Soviet Union Medium bomber Tu-22KD Blinder-B 2005 Must be scrapped by the disarmament treaty
Tupolev Tu-22M  Soviet Union Strategic bomber Tu-22M3 Backfire-C 2000 Must be scrapped by the disarmament treaty
Ilyushin Il-38 Del'fin  Soviet Union Anti-subamarine warfare aircraft May 1992 Ukraine inherited a single Il-38, but due to lack of maintenance it was given to a museum
Tupolev Tu-142  Soviet Union Anti-subamarine warfare aircraft Tu-142MZ Bear-J 1995 8 non-operating and undergoing repairs at Mykolaiv Aircraft Repair Plant when Soviet Union collapsed. Some were returned to Russia, two are in museums and the rest were scrapped in 2004.
Helicopter
Kamov Ka-25  Soviet Union Search and rescue helicopter Ka-25PS Hormone-C 2001

    References
    1. «Aviation and Time". 1996, № 5, page 35, and Michael Holm, Red Banner Black Sea Fleet, accessed December 2012.
    2. Новини Управління Прес-служби МО Archived 2012-08-04 at archive.today
    3. "Frigate "Hetman Sahaydachniy" joins EU's operation "Atlanta"". Eu.for. 3 Jan 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014.
    4. Ripley, Tim. "Ukrainian navy decimated by Russian move into Crimea". IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. IHS Jane's. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
    5. "Russian Sukhoi Fighter 'Hunts Down' A Ukrainian Mi-14 Chopper; Incident Gets Caught On Camera — Watch". www.eurasiantimes.net. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
    6. "A brave Ukrainian colonel died". www.thetimeshub.in. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
    7. "Incredible Success Of Ukraine's Bayraktar TB2: The Ghost Of Snake Island". www.navalnews.com. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
    8. "Britain sending helicopters to Ukraine for first time - Ben Wallace". BBC News. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
    9. "World Air Forces 2022". Flightglobal. Flightglobal Insight. 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
    10. "Меценат подарував авіаційній бригаді ВМСУ літак Ан-2". 31 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
    11. "Ukrainian Navy gets upgraded helicopters". www.ukrinform.net. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
    12. "Ukrainian Westand SeaKing helicopter. This is a machine in the search and rescue variant of the HU5, created by rebuilding the HAS.5 anti-submarine variant". Twitter (in Polish). PortalMilitarny.pl. 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
    13. "British Sea King helicopter arrives in Ukraine – Reznikov". Ukrinform. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
    14. "UK to give artillery rounds and helicopters as part of military aid to Ukraine". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
    15. "Britain sending helicopters to Ukraine for first time - Ben Wallace". BBC News. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
    16. Oleksii, Reznikov (2023-01-21). "Sea King from the UK has arrived in its new kingdom near the Black Sea in Ukraine!". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-01-21. It is a strong reinforcement for the Ukrainian Navy. Our cooperation will continue to increase.
    17. "Sea King in Ukrainian Colours". scramble.nl. 14 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
    18. "Ukrainian military gets first Turkish Bayraktar UAV complex". www.ukrinform.net. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
    19. GDC (2021-07-27). "Turkey delivers first Bayraktar TB2 UCAV to Ukrainian Navy". Global Defense Corp. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
    20. Ozberk, Tayfun (2021-07-26). "Turkey delivers first armed drone to Ukrainian Navy, much to Russia's ire". Defense News. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
    21. "Exposition". Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum of Ukraine. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
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