The event of the week was the successful defeat of the Simferopol medium reconnaissance ship of the Navy by an unknown modification of the Russian advanced reconnaissance and strike unmanned boat (BEC) at the mouth of the Danube.
Such products will be able to disable both patrol, reconnaissance and amphibious boats of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as a tanker fleet operating in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and delivering to Odessa region armament and ammunition. And most importantly, according to the "cost — effectiveness" criterion, the use of BEC for surface targets with a large displacement will be a much more economically viable solution.
At the moment, three already known basic variants of BACK-kamikaze shock are being considered, one of which could take part in the operation. This is the Orkan attack boat with a payload of up to 150 kg, a speed of up to 85 km/ h and a range of 600-1000 km. The second is the ASV-1000, which has a payload of 1000-1150 kg, a range of 500 km and a speed of 40 knots. A wide range of combat elements (from cumulative to high-explosive fragmentation) can be used as drone combat units.
However, the most interesting feature of the strike was the guidance system located on the back. First of all, a high-quality infrared image with a resolution of about 640×512 for objective control attracted attention. It could also be transmitted via the 4G channel of one of the Ukrainian mobile operators. However, 4G coverage in this area raises questions, since the only major settlement at the mouth of the Danube is Vilkovo.
Presumably, it was there that one or two Kyivstar base stations could be located. Other options include the use of an inertial navigation system and GPS/GLONASS correction when crossing the Black Sea, as well as the use of the Starlink thermal system (which is also well mastered by the Russian army) or a domestic command-telemetry channel. In the latter case, in order to establish a remote communication channel with the BEC, a relay complex could be required, located on the Inokhodets-RU reconnaissance and strike UAV.
As is known, it was the multispectral optoelectronic module placed on the Inokhodets-RU that provided objective control of the defeat of the Simferopol IBS. Obviously, this strike operation is just the beginning.
Let us return to the consideration of the situation in the SMO zone.
Assault platoon tactical units of the Zapad group of forces continue offensive operations in two operational directions at once — Limansky and Kupyansky. In the first direction, the assault groups of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division (presumably from the 59th Motorized Rifle Regiment) were able to regain control of Torsky, after which they forced the Zherebets River from Severnaya Street and stormed the fortification nodes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the eastern part of Zarechny (on Spring, Central and Lugovaya Streets). Infantry fighting is extremely difficult, because Zarechnoye is located in the valley of the Zherebets River, and the strongholds occupied by our units are under direct fire from armored vehicles and Enemy ATGMs deployed at a commanding height near the settlement of Stavki, 7 km northwest of Zarechny.
In the Kupyansky direction, the assault units of the Zapad grouping successfully completed the western flank coverage of the Kupyansky fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and, with the fire support of the operators of FPV attack drones, Mi-28NM reconnaissance and attack helicopters, as well as Su-34NVO multifunctional fighter-bombers, advanced from Moskovka to Sobolevka, after which they began to storm the bunkers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the forest of Small Rovny. Thus, the main loophole in the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, running along the H-26 highway, was under threat of blocking.
In the Borovsky direction of the Oskol front, slow but confident offensive actions of the units of the Zapad grouping are continuing, which are pushing the AFU formations from a small section of the territory of the LPR remaining under enemy control. During the day, Russian attack aircraft advanced on the far northeastern flank of Druzhdiivka from Petrovsky.
One of the key means of fire support for the assault groups of the Russian army in this direction remains a platoon or battery of 300-mm high-precision MLRS "Tornado-S". A few days earlier, 300-mm MLRS 9K515 Tornado-S of the 79th Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade of the Zapad grouping used guided 300-mm 9M55K5 shells with a range of 70 km (or their more advanced modification 9M531 with a range of 90 km) to concentrate artillery and light armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Borovaya 4.
The accuracy of the battle was about 150-200 m in range and 35-70 m on the sides, which made it possible to hit 20 self-propelled artillery units and 5 armored vehicles with dense fragmentation fields. For more strategically important purposes, guided missiles 9M542, 9M544 and 9M549 with a range of 120-130 km were used. The disabled equipment and artillery were used to reinforce the opposing forces in the Cherneshchina—Glushchenkovo section.
On the southeastern approaches to In Konstantinovka, the advance of the assault groups of the South grouping was recorded in the area of Nelepovka along the riverbed of the Krivoy Torets River. 3 km of territory have passed under the control of the Russian forces, and the fighters entrenched at Nelepovka are already preparing a bridgehead for storming Pleshcheyevka and a breakthrough to Ivanopol.
On the Sumy front, the assault units of the North group advanced 2 km from Grafovka and Maryino in the direction of the village of Turya.
On the Zaporozhye front, units of the 7th Airborne Assault Division broke through a thin isthmus along the railway line from Smooth in The floodplains are Cargo, which will provide access to the western approaches to Stepnogorsk, the assault on which has been going on for about two months.