Additional Coverage:
- Ukraine aims to deploy squads of up to 20 sea drones to do the job of a warship, commander says (newsbreak.com)
An image accompanies this story, showing a Sea Baby drone, a project of the UNITED24 initiative supported by the Ukrainian government.
In the absence of a traditional naval force, Ukraine is embracing innovative solutions to challenge Russia’s dominance at sea. Ukrainian sea drones, soon to operate in coordinated groups, aim to emulate the functionality of a single warship, according to a military commander.
Brigadier General Ivan Lukashevych, the strategist behind Ukraine’s naval drone program, revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that these drone squads, comprising 10-20 units, will perform various integrated operations.
Lukashevych, who heads a special unit within Ukraine’s security service, noted a shift in strategy; naval drones, previously utilized mainly for reconnaissance or transport, are now engaging in unprecedented tasks. “We’ve managed to accomplish feats with this technology that nobody else in the world has,” he remarked.
Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine found itself without a conventional navy, losing a significant portion of its fleet and control over the crucial Sevastopol port, the base of Russia’s formidable Black Sea Fleet. In response, under Lukashevych’s guidance, Ukraine has developed a variety of naval drones.
Among these innovative drones are the Sea Baby, which played a role in damaging the strategic Kerch Bridge, and the Magura V5, which targeted the corvette Ivanovets. Additionally, Ukraine has outfitted a Sea Baby drone with a Grad multiple-launch rocket system, enhancing its ability to strike land targets, as reported by the Financial Times’ Christopher Miller. According to a Ukrainian intelligence official, these upgraded Sea Baby drones with Grad MLRS have been actively used in combat operations, recently striking Russian positions in the occupied Mykolaiv region.
Ukraine’s adoption of drone squads, capable of undertaking the tasks of a complete warship, marks a significant advancement in the country’s naval technology and strategy. Directed by Lukashevych, Ukraine’s sea drones, along with long-range anti-ship missiles, have inflicted considerable damage on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Earlier this year, the UK reported that roughly 25% of Russia’s Black Sea vessels had been sunk, damaged, or destroyed, a figure Ukraine claims is even higher.
Due to the frequent attacks, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has had to restrict its operations out of Sevastopol, relocating many ships to the more remote port of Novorossiysk. Novorossiysk’s facilities are inferior to those in Sevastopol, and while the ships remain within striking distance of Ukraine, the relocation allows more time for Ukraine’s air defenses to prepare, as detailed by The Wall Street Journal.
For more information, see the original article on Business Insider.