Ukraine's maritime drones: Reshaping the Black Sea conflict
Ukraine has emerged as a global leader in developing unmanned systems, particularly in advanced maritime technologies. However, the Russians have yet to find an effective strategy to counter drones, which have forced their ships to retreat from the Black Sea.
At the start of the conflict, the Ukrainian fleet was nearly defenceless. The flagship, the over 30-year-old frigate "Hetman Sahaydachny," stationed in a dock in Mykolaiv, was scuttled by the Ukrainians themselves on the war’s first day. Fearing it would fall into Russian hands, they were left with only a few small patrol boats - the outdated anti-submarine corvette "Pryluky," three former Island-class U.S. Coast Guard cutters, and Gyurza-M-type riverine vessels.
Given this, it's understandable that the Russian fleet controlled the Black Sea. However, while waiting for larger corvettes like the "Hetman Ivan Mazepa," Ukrainians sought ways to counteract the aggressor's significant advantage. One solution was unmanned vehicles, which proved highly effective.
Fear of Kyiv's drones
For its first generation of drones, the Security Service of Ukraine partnered with the private company SP SpetsTechnoExport. This partnership later spurred fully independent projects, such as the creation of Sea Baby unmanned vehicles. This success marked the beginning of fruitful collaboration between the private sector and the government.
SP SpetsTechnoExport's services were soon enlisted by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, leading to the development of the Magura V5. This maritime assault drone, designed for surface vessel attacks, proved to be Ukraine’s most effective unmanned vehicle. It was instrumental in destroying eight Russian units, including the landing ship "Cesar Kunikov," the patrol vessel "Sergey Kotov," and the missile corvette "Ivanovets."
The Ukrainians quickly expanded their unmanned maritime forces. Initially, the 73rd Marine Special Purpose Center had nautical drones. By the end of 2023, however, the 1st Fleet of Marine Unmanned Vehicles was established.
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. This occurred because their ships couldn't defend against coordinated drone attacks. Unless Ukrainian operators made mistakes, these attacks always spelled trouble for the Russians.
In video footage of successful attacks released by the General Staff, one can observe drones maneuvering under automatic fire from six-barrel AK-630M 30mm guns, designed for self-defense against fast maritime and aerial targets.
Despite their most advanced fire control system, the Bagira, the Russian sailors struggled to hit their targets and couldn't destroy the attacking unmanned boats.
It's not surprising that hand-guided large-calibre MTPU-1 14.5 mm machine guns had limited success, even though some drones were destroyed. This led to Russian ships receiving helicopter escorts, like the Mil Mi-8/17 or Kamov Ka-29, and fast assault boats Raptor, equipped with cannons and machine guns. While the Russians managed to neutralize a few drones, the Ukrainians quickly adapted and devised countermeasures.
An attack the world has never seen
Arming unmanned vehicles isn't a new concept. For the past three decades, maritime unmanned vehicles have been mainly used as reconnaissance drones, typically armed with large-calibre machine guns. While strike drones have also appeared, Ukrainians were the first to deploy them on a large scale in combat.
In the second half of 2023, Sea Baby drones fitted with remotely controlled modules housing 12.7 mm machine guns and four thermobaric grenade launchers RPW-16 appeared in the Black Sea. Soon after, images of the Magura V5 equipped with R-73 anti-aircraft missile launchers on APU-73 aviation rails and Sea Baby armed with 122 mm projectiles, known from BM-13 Grad systems, surfaced.
These armed unmanned vehicles were predominantly used in strike teams to protect kamikaze drones. They aim to neutralize onboard defence systems, accompanying helicopters, and light, fast artillery boats. They are seldom deployed independently for "sweeping" operations, where they hunt 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. In this operation, armed versions of drones opened fire on the target ship, paving the way for strike drones. Two months later, Magura V5 launched R-73 anti-aircraft missiles at Russian helicopters for the first time, although the results were unclear.
Success came on December 31, 2024. On this date, Group 13 operators achieved a world-first by successfully engaging an aerial target with the Magura V5 maritime assault drone armed 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 was soon revealed that the second helicopter was also shot down.
This aerial engagement marked an unparalleled accomplishment for Ukrainian designers and engineers. By investing in equipment valued at $200,000 to $300,000, Ukrainians can eliminate targets costing millions in the case of helicopters or tens of millions in the case of ships.
The Russians are now compelled to find solutions to neutralize the threat posed by armed maritime drones, while Ukrainians continue to enhance the weaponry that helps them win what is akin to a David versus Goliath battle at sea.
