Molniya 1241.8 will have extremely powerful ground attack capabilities?
Thanks to carrying a larger missile load than the Gepard 3.9 and Kilo 636, Vietnam can consider equipping the Molniya 1241.8 with ground attack capability.
Currently, the Vietnam People's Navy is one of the few forces in the Asia-Pacific capable of launching ground attacks from warships via Kalibr cruise missiles launched from Kilo 636 submarines.
In the future, we will likely have more upgraded Gepard 3.9 warships carrying UKSK vertical launchers compatible with Kalibr missiles launched from surface ships, helping to enhance the deterrence power of the Vietnam Navy.
However, the number of missiles on the Gepard 3.9 or Kilo 636 is relatively small, only 8 and 4 respectively when on duty. If choosing to carry land-attack missiles, the anti-ship function will be weakened, so Vietnam should strengthen this function for a class of warships with a larger ammunition capacity.
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| Molniya 1241.8 fast attack missile boat of the Vietnam Navy. |
The suitable target is none other than Molniya 1241.8 as it carries up to 16 3M-24 Uran-E anti-ship cruise missiles.
According to the assessment in anti-ship warfare, the ammunition base should be sufficient to fluctuate around 8 - 12, meaning "Lightning" can research carrying a mixture of 4 - 8 land-attack cruise missiles.
It should be noted that in addition to the traditional 3M-24E anti-ship version, Russia also has a modified 3M-24E1 Uranium variant for ground attack missions by replacing the active radar seeker with an image-matching type combined with a GLONASS satellite guidance unit in the mid-course phase.
This missile is reportedly already in service with the Indian Navy, equipping Delhi-class destroyers and including some Kora-class missile boats.
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| The KCT 15 anti-ship missile was manufactured by Vietnam based on the Russian Uran-E design. |
Currently, Vietnam is in the process of acquiring Russian Uran-E anti-ship cruise missile technology to produce the domestic version KCT 15 with all three variants launched from the air, on land and from fighter aircraft.
According to some military experts, if needed, we can completely import more Uranium technology to create a ground-attack cruise missile variant.
Compared to Kalibr, the range of 3M-24E1 is equivalent, although the warhead is slightly smaller, it has the advantage of low cost, allowing better wide-area deployment.
If in the future Vietnam produces both anti-ship and land-attack versions of the Uran missile, we can consider the possibility of equipping Uranium for the "Lightning" fast attack craft.
With a base of 4 - 8 surface-to-surface missiles, Molniya 1241.8 will have a very high deterrent while its anti-surface ship capability is almost not affected much compared to the Gepard or Kilo 636 having to sacrifice its anti-ship ammunition to replace it with ground-attack ammunition.
