The Only Project 1135M Ship in Black Sea Was Hit in Novorossiysk

A Ukrainian drone struck the sole Project 1135M patrol ship Pytlivyi in Novorossiysk, part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Video of the strike, filmed by the Russians themselves, was released by the channel Exilenova+.

The strike against the aggressor nation’s ship took place on the night of May 23. To do this, the Unmanned Systems Forces used an FP-1/2 kamikaze drone.

The next day, the General Staff confirmed the strike on the Pytlivyi, although the USF claimed to have struck the Russian frigate Admiral Essen.

After analyzing the drone footage, X user @GrangerE04117 also concluded that a Project 1135M patrol ship had been struck in Novorossiysk.

The Project 1135M patrol ship Pytlivyi (hull number 868) is part of the 30th Surface Ships Division of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Project 1135M is a modernization of the base Project 1135 Burevestnik. The main differences lie in the installation of more powerful 100 mm artillery systems instead of 76 mm ones and an upgraded hydroacoustic system.

Construction of the ship Pytlivyi began in late June 1979. The launch took place on April 16, 1981; it entered service on November 30, 1981, and was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet on February 9, 1982.

The ship was originally designed to search for and destroy submarines in near and far zones. However, Russia uses the Pytlivyi as a patrol ship for guarding the maritime zone, escorting transport vessels, and demonstrating a military presence.

​Tactical and technical characteristics of the ship:

• ​Displacement: 3,200 tons.
• ​Dimensions: length — 123 m, beam — 14.2 m, draft — 4.5 m.
• ​Propulsion system: gas turbine (2 main and 2 afterburners), total power — 34,000 hp.
• Speed: up to 32.2 knots (full speed), economic speed — 14 knots.
• Range: 5,000 nautical miles at a speed of 14 knots.
• ​Crew: up to 197 personnel.

Weapons system

• ​Anti-submarine: 1 URK-5 Rastrub-B missile-torpedo launcher (4 missiles), designed to engage submarines and surface ships. There are also two quadruple 533 mm torpedo tubes and two RBU-6000 depth charge launchers.
• ​Air defense: 2 Osa-MA-2 air-aircraft missile systems (40 missiles).
• ​Artillery: 2 single-barrel 100 mm AK-100 artillery mounts.

It is known that in December 2016, the Russian vessel Pytlivyi forced a Ukrainian border guard ship to leave the area of the seized drilling platforms in the Black Sea.