The Maritime Security Strategy Implementation Plan approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine provides for the purchase of two more corvettes for the Ukrainian Navy.

The relevant document was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on November 22.

According to the plan, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine is to conclude a foreign economic contract for the construction of two new corvettes in the interests of the Navy in 2024-2026.

The specific type of ships or potential contractors are not named. However, it would be logical to assume that these are the same type of Turkish Ada-class corvettes, as two of them are already being built to order for Ukraine.

After the contract is signed, the construction of the ships and their delivery to the customer is expected to last from 2026 to 2030.

The new ships should ensure that Ukraine’s naval capabilities are sufficient to ensure the defense of the sea coast and protect national interests in the Black and Azov Seas.

The cost of a potential order

The Ministry of Defence signed a contract for the construction of the first two Ada-class corvettes (F211 and F212) with Turkish companies in December 2020.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but the authoritative Defensenews publication, citing Turkish sources, said it was worth about €200 million ($256 million) at the time of the contract signing.

This amount coincides with the state funding for the construction of the Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F211) corvette in 2021, which is worth UAH 3,788,506 billion (about $137 million).

This is only a fraction of the total cost of one corvette, as at the time of signing the agreement, plans called for the final completion of the vessels in Ukraine. In addition, this amount did not include at least some of the expensive weapons, such as air defense systems and anti-ship missile systems, which were only being selected at the time of construction.

The approximate final cost of a Ukrainian ship can be estimated from this year’s Malaysian contract for three Ada corvettes. The budget allocated for the purchase of three boats was approximately $530 million ($176 million per ship).

The peculiarity of the Malaysian corvettes in this calculation is that they will be manufactured in a similar modification with aft vertical air defense missile launchers.