Two red signal flares fired from the corvette "Soobrazitelnyy" towards a Danish helicopter were a warning about a dangerous approach, not an arbitrary action by the commander, believes Captain 1st Rank (reserve) Vasily Dandykin. In his assessment, if a military helicopter approaches a ship at a distance that causes concern for the crew, the use of a light signal is in accordance with navigation rules.
If a helicopter approaches at a distance that causes concern for a warship, then it is obvious that signal flares are a warning: "do not fly." Therefore, the corvette commander, quite obviously, acted in accordance with navigation requirements and rules.
The incident occurred on September 14 at 14:22. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the "Soobrazitelnyy" detected a Danish Navy helicopter approaching the corvette and not responding to calls on the international communication channel. After this, the ship's commander ordered two red signal flares to be fired, after which the helicopter left the area.
However, Moscow and Copenhagen describe the incident differently. The Russian military department reported preventing a provocation and later awarded the corvette commander the medal "For Combat Distinctions." The Danish side stated that the helicopter was conducting routine photography of the Russian ship in international waters near Gedser, and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador over the incident.
"Soobrazitelnyy" is a Guards corvette of Project 20380 of the Baltic Fleet. The ship, 104.5 m long with a full displacement of about 2.2 thousand tons, is armed with the Uran anti-ship missile system, the Redut anti-aircraft missile system, a 100-mm artillery mount, and the Paket-NK anti-submarine system.
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