The ministry
made a statement about the vessel; “The Black Sea Fleet has deployed forces and
equipment to monitor the actions of the HS Daniolos guided-missile boat, which
entered the Black Sea on July 10, 2021.”
Greece has participated
in the US-Led Sea Breeze 2021 drill. The United States conducted the exercise to
support Ukraine against Russia. Many NATO allies and non-NATO navies
participated in the drill held in the Black Sea from June 28 till July 10. The exercise involved 5,000 soldiers, 40 aeroplanes
and 32 vessels from 32 countries.
While the
drills were finished on Saturday, simultaneously, some of the Sea Breeze
vessels are taking part in the Bulgarian-led Breeze naval drills and will
remain in the area for some time, the US Navy said.
Earlier on
Saturday, Russia warned the US and its allies against military provocations
close to its border, pointing out that military manoeuvres in the Black Sea, contrary
to official claims, undermine security in the region.
Last month, a
major incident occurred when a UK Destroyer HMS Defender passed intentionally
on the waters that Russia claims as territorial waters near the southernmost
tip of Sevastopol, Crimea. The UK government claimed it had every right to
conduct an “innocent passage”, justifying that it does not recognize Crimea as
Russian territory. Russia has opened warning fire to the vessel.
“The Black Sea
is not the place where such games are permissible”, Russian Deputy Foreign
Minister Sergey Ryabkov said earlier.
Hellenic Navy
Calls the vessel Fast Patrol Boats, Roussen class also known as Super
Vita.
The ships’
main armament are eight Exocet MM40 Block II/III anti-ship missiles with a
range of up to 70/180 km, respectively. An Otobreda 76 mm naval gun complements
them in the bow and two smaller 30mm cannons as secondary weapons on the ships’
superstructure. The vessel’s primary anti-air and RIM-116 RAM is the anti-missile
missile system, an onboard Mk-31 launcher with 21 projectiles and the DR3000
electronic support measures system Mk36 SRBOC decoy launcher.
