Ukraine's drone innovation shifts the tide in the Black Sea
Despite possessing the Black Sea Fleet, the Russians have effectively been defeated in the Black Sea by a nation lacking warships. The turning point for Ukraine has been the use of maritime drones, which have even evolved into what could be likened to aircraft carriers, capable of attacking Russian assets on land.
The attack on the Russian anti-aircraft systems Strela-10 and Osa was conducted by Ukrainians in the Kherson region. The Ukrainians identified valuable anti-aircraft systems along the coast behind Russian lines and opted to use maritime drones functioning as aircraft carriers to destroy them.
This event serves as another example of the innovative work by Group 13 of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), following projects related to anti-aircraft drones. Such operations behind enemy lines are highly demoralising for the Russians and compel them to deploy additional forces, which might be more beneficial elsewhere.
Ukrainian unmanned aircraft carrier — based on commercial components
The Ukrainian unmanned aircraft carrier is likely based on the Magura V5 project. These units resemble motorboats with a length of approximately 5.5 metres and a width of 1.5 metres, powered by a jet propulsion system borrowed from a Sea-Doo watercraft, allowing them to reach speeds up to 77 km/h.
Moreover, this system is equipped with encrypted communication, satellite navigation, a Starlink terminal, and an observation head with both day and thermal cameras mounted on a mast. Instead of carrying a 300/600-kilogram warhead, a superstructure is used as a landing pad for FPV drones or "Baba Yaga" drones that carry smaller units, along with a mast with an antenna to enhance communication with the drones.
FPV drones can cover a range of over 10 kilometres or slightly more, but employing larger drones, such as Baba Yaga, as signal boosters and transporters for FPV drones (there are known instances of such applications) can extend the operational range of the strike group to several dozen kilometres. Such harassing attacks can considerably weaken the Russian capability to shoot down Ukrainian strike drones targeting locations in Crimea.
