Defense Intelligence told how naval drones work on Russian ships

The Main Directorate of Intelligence disclosed the details of attacks by Ukrainian naval drones on Russian ships.

A Defense Intelligence officer with the call sign “13” told about the strikes by naval drones on the facilities of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.

Call sign “13” commands the fleet of maritime drones of military intelligence of Ukraine. He participated in several successful attacks on Russian ships, in particular in a recent special operation near the village of Chornomorske in occupied Crimea.

At dawn on November 10, 2023, Ukrainian naval drones entered the port, bypassing anti-submarine nets. Noticing the drones, the Russians opened machine-gun fire, but were unable to stop their movement.

As a result of the mission, the scouts destroyed two enemy landing craft of the “Akula” and “Serna” classes. Both Russian vessels went to the bottom together with the armored personnel carrier loaded on board. Another drone exploded in a repair dock there.

The military also spoke about the successful defeat by naval drones of the Russian reconnaissance ship “Ivan Khurs” and the new expensive patrol vessel of the occupiers “Sergei Kotov” in May and September.

Importantly, the cost of all drones used for attacks is thousands of times lower than building one ship (like “Kotov”) and training the crews.

Maritime kamikaze drones are also used by other units of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine, in particular the SBU. Their Sea Baby drones attacked the illegal Kerch bridge, the Russian frigate Admiral Makarov, the Sig oil tanker and the Russian amphibious assault ship “Olenegorskyi Gornyak”.

Ukrainian operators of maritime UAVs are changing approaches to warfare at sea, as they expose the vulnerability of enemy large ships to cheap and quickly manufactured drones.

Successful attacks with these weapons became an important factor in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and creating a corridor for the movement of foreign merchant ships to Ukrainian ports.

One of the means of defeat is the Magura V5 drone. It is equipped with two cameras, infrared optics and a satellite module that transmits camera signals to the control point.

The 300-horsepower engine allows for a speed of 45 nautical miles per hour. A cruising speed of 25 mph provides a range of 250 miles. The warhead is located in the bow and weighs 250 kg.

The combat part in next-generation drones is even more difficult. The new modification of the naval drone also allows you to place mines in the path of enemy ships and return to the base port.

Great Britain and the USA played a significant role in the creation of the fleet of Ukrainian attack marine drones. The result of this cooperation was the heavy losses of the fleet of the terrorist Russian Federation and the expulsion of the aggressor from the western part of the Black Sea.