Ukraine's Navy Needs No Sailors - And Is Very Good At Destroying Russian Ships

A largely ship-less and sailor-less navy has wracked up some pretty impressive victories against the traditional Russian fleet. JL 

The Economist reports:

Ukraine is winning the war in the Black Sea and has broken the Russian blockade of its grain ships. Its victories have often depended on rapid technological innovation: every other navy relies on crewed ships to fight, but Ukraine has built a fleet of drone boats. The Ukrainians operate their usvs by remote control, typically using a video feed transmitted via satellite. The typical craft is packed with explosives for a kamikaze attack. Naval drones have knocked out around ten Russian ships.

When russia invaded in February 2022 Ukraine barely had a navy. The defenders scuttled their one frigate to prevent Russia from seizing it. Two years later Ukraine is struggling to hold back a Russian offensive on land—but it is winning the war in the Black Sea and has broken the Russian blockade of its grain ships. Its victories have often depended on rapid technological innovation: every other navy relies on crewed ships to fight, but Ukraine has built a fleet of drone boats, or uncrewed surface vehicles (usvs). How are they shaping the war at sea?

 

Many navies have small-scale usv programmes for auxiliary roles such as mine disposal or hunting submarines. Before the war in Ukraine the most ambitious was Sea Hunter, a 40-metre vessel that America’s navy has been developing since 2016. But Ukraine’s usvs are different. Helped by its allies, the country has pioneered small, cheap naval drones that are quick and easy to build and are used for attack rather than support—like the diy attack drones it uses on land. H.I. Sutton, an author and naval analyst, has documented 11 types based on video and images of recovered vessels—including the Magura V5 drone (see model)—but there may be more.

The Ukrainians operate their usvs by remote control, typically using a video feed transmitted via satellite. The typical craft is packed with explosives for a kamikaze attack. usvs have struck Russian patrol and transport vessels, warships and even damaged the Kerch Bridge, which links Crimea to Russia. Individual drones tend to do little damage, but multiple hits can sink a ship. The Economist’s back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that naval drones have knocked out around ten Russian ships, including the Caesar Kunikov.

The Russians have tried to counter drone boats with cannon and machineguns. But the Ukrainians have a solution: recent videos show a drone carrying out attacks with six 122mm Grad rockets instead of kamikaze warheads. These can strike ships from beyond the range of the Russians’ defensive fire. Unlike kamikaze models, they can even attack ships that have taken shelter in a harbour. They can also hit targets on land. The unguided rockets are inaccurate, but can still cause casualties and damage radar, communications equipment and exposed missiles, as well as distracting defenders so that kamikaze boats can slip through. Unguided rockets are cheap and plentiful and, unlike the kamikaze models, these missile-armed drone boats can attack again and again.

 

Russia has also sent helicopters to intercept drone boats. But Ukraine has adapted its usvs to deal with that threat, too. One was recently seen with an unusual addition: two R-73 air-to-air missiles, modified for surface launch. This changes the drone boats from hunted to hunter, potentially allowing them to lure high-value helicopters and shoot them down.

Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s head of defence intelligence, has claimed that Ukrainian drone boats have more surprises ready for the Russians. Private developers operating elsewhere could provide a clue to what those might be. Four Turkish defence companies have developed a submersible kamikaze usv that can approach targets stealthily before surfacing for a high-speed attack.

The success of small drones on land in Ukraine has prompted other armed forces to invest more in their own drone programmes. But despite Ukraine’s victories at sea, other countries have not fielded their own naval attack drones as quickly—with one exception: Russia has started to deploy combat usvs, too.