The war in Ukraine is fueling the evolution of weapons: At the beginning of the conflict, sea drones that ram themselves into enemy ships were new - now they can already engage air and sea targets.
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- The Ukrainian navy, of all people, is hitting Russian air defenses on land: this is made possible by sea drones equipped with kamikaze drones. It is the latest step in an evolution.
- Last year, Kiev successfully completed the development of an air defense system for sea drones.
- This means that sea drones can now attack their biggest threat: enemy helicopters.
- The latest, as yet unnamed model can also lay mines.
- Price comparison: sea drones are significantly cheaper than sea-target missiles.
The fact that the Ukrainian armed forces claim to have hit three Russian air defense systems in Kherson Oblast is not initially worthy of a headline. However, the fact that it was the navy that hit two Panzir-S1s and a 9K33 Osa in Crimea on January 6 comes as a surprise.
A video published by Kiev clarifies the situation: In it, a Ukrainian kamikaze drone swoops down on a 15 million dollar Panzir system, whose radar turns visible but is unable to prevent the attack. Perhaps the Russians were taken by surprise, as the attack comes from the sea - via a naval drone.
The exact device used by the navy in Crimea was not revealed. The state-run Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security shows pictures of a Magura V5 maritime drone and three multicopters, but these may only be for illustrative purposes.
Only a week after Ukrainian sea-drones made history by successfully taking down russian helicopters, another historical first as our homegrown naval drones are now launching their own FPV drones, destroying Russia's air defense units.
The Black Sea will be liberated.
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— SPRAVDI - Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) 7. Januar 2025 um 09:37
Helicopters are the most successful naval drone hunters
The fact that Kiev's naval drones can now also hit targets on land is significant, according to "The War Zone":"This is the latest development in Ukraine's Black Sea drone war, which has seen an increasingly innovative use of unmanned systems."
The evolution of Ukrainian naval drones is indeed impressive. Initially, they are used as explosives in kamikaze mode, and the reliability of the remote-controlled boats is being improved. The best antidote for Russia is the helicopter: from the air, the sea drones lying deep in the water are clearly visible with their bow waves.
So it's no wonder that Ukrainian inventors are working on making their sea drones defensible. They also have to put up with setbacks: In May 2024, a video was made public showing a Russian Ka-29 helicopter destroying a Magura sea drone, on which two launchers for air defense missiles can be seen.
Mines, machine guns and rocket launchers
What failed in the summer finally worked in the winter: On December 31, a Magura V5 seed drone near Crimea shoots down two Russian helicopters for the first time and damages another, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. This means that Kiev's remote-controlled boats can now fight their biggest enemy.
And that's not all: "Naval News" reveals that the latest sea drone design is also capable of laying sea mines. A Sea Baby drone has also been successfully equipped with a machine gun that can be used to attack both air and sea targets.
The sea drones are now largely replacing the missiles with which the Ukrainian armed forces sank Russian ships at the beginning of the war. A Ukrainian Neptune missile costs around 1.5 million dollars. Storm Shadow costs one million. A Magura V5 naval drone, on the other hand, costs 273,000 dollars.
The Ukrainian navy has so far succeeded in eliminating around 28 percent of the Russian Black Sea fleet. Now it can also engage air and land targets. The evolution will continue: In the future, missile launchers could also be installed on the boats to attack the enemy far behind the coast.