Ukraine's sea drones force Russian ships into retreat
Ukraine has emerged as a global leader in developing unmanned systems, especially advanced maritime systems. However, the Russians have not yet found an effective way to counter these drones, which have forced their ships to retreat from the Black Sea.
The Ukrainian fleet entered the war almost completely defenseless. The flagship, the over-30-year-old frigate "Hetman Sahaydachny," stationed in a dock in Mykolaiv, was scuttled by the Ukrainians themselves on the first day of the war to prevent it from falling into Russian hands. This left them with only small patrol boats, including the outdated anti-submarine corvette "Pryluky," three former Island-class U.S. Coast Guard cutters, and Gyurza-M-type riverine vessels.
No wonder the Russian fleet ruled the Black Sea. Waiting for large corvettes of the "Hetman Ivan Mazepa" type, Ukrainians were forced to find ways to offset the aggressor's massive advantage. One solution was unmanned vehicles, a choice that proved to be highly successful.
Fear of Kyiv's drones
In developing the first-generation drones, the Security Service of Ukraine collaborated with the private company SP SpetsTechnoExport. Later, fully independent programs began, resulting in the creation of Sea Baby unmanned vehicles. This was just the beginning of the successful cooperation between the private sector and the government.
SP SpetsTechnoExport's services were soon utilized by the Ministry of Defense's Main Intelligence Directorate, ultimately leading to the creation of the Magura V5. This maritime assault drone, designed for attacks on surface vessels, became the most effective Ukrainian unmanned vehicle. It was used to destroy eight Russian units, including the landing ship Cesar Kunikov, the patrol vessel Sergey Kotov, and the missile corvette Ivanovets.
Ukrainians quickly expanded their unmanned maritime forces. Originally, the 73rd Marine Special Purpose Center had nautical drones. However, by the end of 2023, the 1st Fleet of Marine Unmanned Vehicles was formed.
Both units operated so effectively that Russians were forced to withdraw ships from Crimea and now limit the use of surface units in the Black Sea. Their ships could not defend against well-coordinated drone attacks. If Ukrainian operators didn't make mistakes, the attacks ended poorly for the Russians.
In videos of successful attacks published by the General Staff, drones can be seen maneuvering under automatic fire from six-barrel AK-630M 30mm guns, used specifically for self-defense against fast maritime and aerial targets.
Russian sailors are unable to hit targets despite having the Bagira system on board, the most modern fire control system available in the Russian fleet. Nevertheless, they could not destroy the attacking unmanned boats.
It's no surprise that hand-guided large-caliber machine guns MTPU-1 14.5 mm Zhalo have little effectiveness, although some drones were destroyed with them. That's why Russian ships began to receive helicopter escorts, such as Mil Mi-8/17 or Kamov Ka-29, and fast assault boats, Raptor, armed with cannons and machine guns. Russians managed to neutralize a few drones, yet Ukrainians quickly found solutions to counter this.
An attack the world has never seen
Arming unmanned vehicles isn't a novel idea. Over the past three decades, maritime unmanned vehicles have been developed primarily for reconnaissance drones armed with, at most, large-caliber machine guns. Strike drones have also appeared; however, Ukrainians were the first to use them on such a large scale and in combat.
In the second half of 2023, Sea Baby drones equipped with remotely controlled modules with 12.7 mm machine guns and four thermobaric grenade launchers RPW-16 appeared in the Black Sea. Shortly after, photos of the Magura V5 equipped with R-73 anti-aircraft missile launchers on APU-73 aviation rails and Sea Baby with 122 mm projectiles, known from BM-13 Grad systems, were published.
Armed unmanned vehicles began to be used mainly in strike teams to shield kamikaze drones. Their goal is to neutralize onboard defense systems, escorting helicopters, and light, fast artillery boats. They are rarely used alone for so-called sweeping, that is, freely hunting Russian aircraft and smaller maritime units.
On March 5, 2024, the HUR Group 13 special unit sank the Black Sea Fleet patrol ship "Sergey Kotov," which was escorted by a Ka-29. The attack involved armed versions of drones, which opened fire on the attacked ship, paving the way for strike drones. Two months later, Magura V5 launched R-73 anti-aircraft missiles in the direction of Russian helicopters for the first time, though with unclear success.
The successful attack happened on December 31, 2024. On that day, Group 13 operators achieved a world first by successfully striking an aerial target with the Magura V5 maritime assault drone equipped with R-73 missiles. Initially, HUR reported that "during an operation near the Tarkhankut Peninsula, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed, and a second was damaged and barely returned to base." It soon became apparent that the second helicopter was also shot down.
This attack on aerial targets was an unprecedented achievement for Ukrainian designers and engineers. By investing in equipment worth $200–300 thousand, Ukrainians can destroy targets costing millions of dollars in the case of helicopters or tens of millions in the case of ships.
Russians are forced to find solutions to neutralize the threat from armed maritime drones, prompting Ukrainians to continue to enhance the weaponry that helps them win the David against Goliath battle at sea.
Sławek Zagórski
