The Ukrainian Simferopol medium-sized reconnaissance ship was armed with an АК-306 artillery system.

The press service of the Ukrainian Navy Command published a photo of the tests of the new system.

The reconnaissance ship received an island in the front of the deck, where an АК-306 close-in weapon system with a unit of six 30mm rotary automatic cannons was installed.

Considering the firing training with the use of this artillery system, it can be concluded that the modernization was successful.

“The Ukrainian Navy held another combat training session with artillery firing from ship weapons. The firing was carried out on a small-sized moving surface target, as part of the ship-boat group with the involvement of coastal anti-aircraft artillery,” the press service reported.

АК-306 is a Soviet 30mm fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. It has an adjustable rate of fire of 600 to 1000 rounds per minute, and its firing range is 5000 meters. It is designed to defeat surface and air targets.

The system is designed on the basis of the АК-630 artillery system. It had the guidance radar removed and a number of significant structural changes made to facilitate its installation on low-displacement vessels.

To control the system, the island for the operator manually directing to the target was displayed separately, while the AK-306 simultaneously repeats all actions.

Reconnaissance ship Simferopol

Simferopol is a medium reconnaissance ship of Project 502EM named Laguna. It was produced in 2019 by the Ukrainian shipbuilding enterprise Kuznya na Rybalskomu by the order of the Ukrainian Navy.

The length of Simferopol is 55 meters, and the width is 10 meters. With a displacement of about 1200 tons, it is capable of reaching speeds of up to 12 knots (22 km/h).

The ship is equipped with a number of radio equipment, including the Melchior SIGINT system, developed by the Kvant-Radiolokatsiya Research Institute of Radar Systems.

Melchior operates in passive mode, so it goes undetected. It is capable of analyzing the radio frequency spectrum that is emitted by ships, aircraft, or coastal objects. The maximum operating range of the system announced by the manufacturer is 450 km.