Maritime Drones Becoming Flagship of the Ukrainian Navy

Executive Summary:

• The September 24 Ukrainian naval drone attack on oil terminals in Novorossiysk and Tuapse marked the first time that Ukraine has used maritime drones to attack Russian oil industry facilities.  
• Ukraine’s development of advanced maritime drones like the Magura and SeaBaby have demonstrated high effectiveness, sinking ships, striking aircraft, and even damaging infrastructure like the Kerch Bridge.
• With proven combat success, Ukraine plans controlled exports of naval drones, while Russia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) advance their own programs, intensifying competition in unmanned maritime warfare technologies.

On September 24, Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian cities of Novorossiysk and Tuapse. Cyber Boroshno, a Ukrainian open-source intelligence (OSINT) team, analyzed video footage and found that the drone struck oil loading piers within the port of Tuapse (Cyber Boroshno, September 24). The attack damaged infrastructure for the Transneft oil terminal and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal near Novorossiysk. Both terminals paused operations following the attack, but allegedly resumed loading tankers the next day (Bloomberg; United24 Media, September 25). The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) was behind the attack, according to an unnamed source from the agency (Radio Svoboda; Kyiv Independent, September 25).

The September 24 attack is the first time Ukraine has used maritime drones, also known as unmanned surface vessels (USVs), in addition to traditional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to attack Russian oil industry facilities. Several USVs broke through Russian defenses and successfully reached their targets, demonstrating the growing role of maritime drones in Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets. These drones have already proven their effectiveness, having destroyed or damaged approximately 15 ships from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. This constitutes almost a third of the total Russian Black Sea Fleet, according to Roman Pogorily, OSINT researcher and co-founder of the DeepState team (Ukrinform, May 30).

Naval drones are not just effective on ships. In December 2024, the GUR announced that a Magura V5 naval drone struck an Mi-8 “Hip” transport helicopter, the first-ever naval drone strike on an aerial target (GUR, December 31, 2024). On May 2 of this year, a Ukrainian USV from the GUR’s Group 13 unit destroyed a Russian Su-30SM “Flanker” multirole fighter jet (GUR, May 3). These instances confirmed the significant potential and flexibility of naval drones.

Ukraine began actively developing unmanned maritime systems after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Today, several systems have been developed (see EDM, October 16, August 13, 2024; Covert Shores, June 20). Some USVs remain prototypes or scale models, but others, such as the Magura and SeaBaby, have already scored a large number of successful operations, including the famous Kerch Bridge attack (TSN, June 3).

Another Ukrainian project is the Toloka family of underwater drones (Militarnyi, September 22). These include the Toloka-200—a small drone with a range of 200 kilometers (approximately 124 miles), a payload capacity of 20 kilograms, and a speed of over 15 knots, essentially analogous to small first person view (FPV) drones); the Toloka-400—a reconnaissance and strike drone with a range of 1,200 kilometers (approximately 745 miles), a payload capacity of over 500 kilograms, and a gasoline engine, capable of diving to a depth of 30 meters (approximately 100 feet); and the Toloka-1000—a diesel-electric autonomous vehicle with a composite hull. The Toloka-1000 is designed for monitoring, reconnaissance, surveillance, and strike missions, featuring a 2,000-kilometer (approximately 1,240-mile) range, a five-ton payload capacity, speeds ranging from 5 to 15 knots, and a diving depth of 1,000 meters (approximately 3,280 feet). Currently, the company is testing onboard equipment for the Toloka-1000, while the Toloka-200 and Toloka-400 are being prepared for serial production. There is no publicly available information regarding the possible combat use of these underwater drones.

As with other cutting-edge defense developments by Ukrainian engineers, marine drones, which have already proven their effectiveness in real combat operations, may be of interest to buyers abroad. They could become an important element of Ukrainian arms exports (see EDM, October 8, 2024, September 17). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the possible opening of exports this year during his meeting with representatives of leading American companies on September 24 in New York. He noted that Ukraine has around 30 large manufacturers of unmanned systems (President of Ukraine, September 25). Earlier, during his evening address, Zelenskyy announced that the first proposals had been made regarding the export of Ukrainian weapons, stressing that it would be “a controlled export of our weapons, including naval drones” (President of Ukraine, September 21).

The Kremlin has noticed the advance of Ukrainian naval drones, and Russian engineers are working to create their own fleet of maritime drones. The “Rubicon” Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies is currently the primary operator of USVs in the Russian Armed Forces and is gaining recognition for its effectiveness and technological prowess in the field of UAVs (Radio Svoboda, September 17).

On August 28, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video showing an unnamed USV attacking the Simferopol, a Ukrainian medium reconnaissance ship that was located at the mouth of the Danube River. According to a statement by the Russian ministry, their USVs sank the ship (Russian Ministry of Defense, August 28). Dmytro Pletenchuk, the Ukrainian Navy spokesperson, later confirmed the attack without providing details on the ship’s status. According to him, one member of the crew was killed in action, several were injured, and a couple of sailors are still missing (Ukrinform, August 28).

The Russian military actively shares its modern combat experience, particularly in the use of unmanned systems, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) (see EDM, June 4; Reuters, September 25). It is not surprising that the PRC is interested in data on the technical characteristics of Russian systems and tactics for their use against Ukraine. Beijing has its own program of marine drones, which could play an important role in a potential conflict over Taiwan (see China Brief, December 20, 2024; Naval News, September 18).

Ukrainian naval drones have become a revolutionary weapon, proving their effectiveness and versatility in a wide range of missions. Precision strikes on ships, air defense, and even strategic long-range strikes are just some of the capabilities of these systems. Such drones could be of great interest to Ukraine’s partners if Kyiv opens its arms exports. At the same time, Russia has begun developing and deploying its own systems. Russia’s advances in maritime drones pose a threat to Ukraine and other countries facing aggression from Russia or its allies.