The sinking of the Moskva may have been triggered by Turkish-made TB2 attack drones along with the Neptune missiles provided by the US, a Ukrainian official along defence experts told news agency Nikkei Asia.
The sinking of Moskva has led Russia to rethink its strategy as the ship possessed anti-ship, anti-air and anti-submarine missiles to protect itself and also provide cover for the other simultaneous operations that the Russian army was carrying out.
The Moskva sank last week driving Russian president Vladimir Putin furious but reports that the attack drones were from Turkey could further strain the relations between Moscow and Ankara.
People familiar with the developments told news agency Nikkei Asia that the Moskva was sunk using medium altitude long endurance (MALE) armed Bayraktar TB2 drones. Defence analysts told the news agency that these attack drones may have been used to pinpoint the precise location of the Russian warship in the Black Sea.
Turkey says that once sold, Istanbul stops operating the drones and it is then controlled entirely by the buyer nation and it sold drones to Ukraine in the past. Ukrainian forces earlier posted videos on social media where it showed that Bayraktar drones were used to attack military convoys. The Bayraktar drones were also part of some catchy songs made to encourage Ukrainian soldiers.
Defence industry analyst Arda Mevlutoglu while speaking to Nikkei Asia pointed towards open-source intelligence which shows that a TB2 mobile ground-control station was spotted in Odessa last week. Mevlutoglu also pointed out that the Ukrainian defence ministry earlier said that the TB2 drones would be used to defend Ukraine.
“Bayraktar TB2 is much smaller, with a low radar cross-section and lower flight speed, making it very likely that it fell below the detection threshold of Moskva radars,” he said while pointing out that the main radar system on the Moskva is based on an old technology which can only detect fixed-wing combat aircraft, bombers, helicopters and cruise missiles.
Another expert, Can Kasapoglu, director of the security and defence studies program at the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), Turkish think tank said that either was involved in the attack directly or acted as a distraction for the Moskva when Ukrainian anti-ship missiles opened fire.
Geopolitical consultant Rich Outzen, a retired US Army veteran and a State Department official, says the TB2 drone is a communications relay, spotter, jammer, sensor, target designator and decoy – making it a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ weapon in a war.
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