Strike naval drones in the war against Russia

Naval drones are nothing new in defense technology and have been used by various armies around the world for a long time. The rates of their usage are growing every year due to their cheapness and safety compared to manned vessels that have similar tasks.

The main areas of development for naval drones are reconnaissance, protecting the waters against combat divers, and unmanned minesweepers (mine clearance systems).

Until recently, the concept of naval kamikaze drones was unclaimed among the USVs offered on the market. The reason was that they were considered unnecessary considering the numerous anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, and other weapons.

Nevertheless, with the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the point of view on this instrument of war was radically revised. Unique Ukrainian naval drones, having entered into a clash with the Russian Navy, demonstrated their high efficiency and made a significant contribution to the hostilities breakthrough at the theater of naval operations, pushing back the entire Russian fleet into ports and harbors.

Ukrainian naval kamikaze drone

The Ukrainian strike naval drone is a small, high-speed and highly maneuverable remotely controlled vessel carrying a warhead that detonates during contact with an enemy ship.

Despite the difficult conditions of use, Ukrainian drones have a fairly simple design that allows them to be manufactured at small, non-core enterprises in the country that is in a state of war. According to official statements of Ukrainian representatives, the cost of one USV is about $250,000.

Analysis of images of the USV showed that its design is based on a civilian jet ski of the Canadian company Sea-Doo, namely the GTX or Fish Pro model, which is quite common on the market. This approach has greatly simplified and reduced the cost of drone production.

The vessel is powered by a jet propeller located at the aft of the hull. The propeller works in conjunction with a powerful Rotax three-cylinder engine capable of accelerating the jet ski to 70 miles per hour.

Judging by the equipment on board, the drone is controlled by satellite geolocation systems. And also via a video channel in which the signal from the camera is transmitted through the Starlink satellite communication system to the control panel at the command post.

Another feature of the first-generation naval drone is the warhead initiation system. The explosives mounted in the middle of the hull are driven by two impact detonators located in the nose. The latter, presumably, were taken from Soviet aircraft ammunition, which suggests the use of FAB-100 or FAB-250 bombs as a warhead.

A completely new metal hull, presumably made of aluminum, was made for the USV, to replace the original fiberglass, which was equipped with a jet ski.

During the crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the production of a fleet of these drones, some of the technical characteristics were announced by the manufacturers.

The strike drone has the following tech specs:

• Length – 5.5 m
• Total weight – up to 1000 kg
• Operational range – up to 400 km
• Range – up to 800 km
• Durability – up to 60 hours
• Payload – up to 200 kg
• Maximum speed – 80 km/h
• Navigation – GNSS, inertial, visual

Second generation

After its debut on October 29, 2022, when surface drones attacked Russian ships located in Sevastopol Bay, Ukraine did not stop and continued to work on the development of its creation, which resulted in the setting up of second-generation drones.

The improved USVs became smaller than the original but retained the overall layout. Prototypes were shown by Ukrainian media on March 22, 2023 – exactly the same day when several drones attacked Sevastopol Bay.

The first images of the serial version of the drone with a mast, on which surveillance equipment and the Starlink antenna were installed, appeared only on May 24, when the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video of the attack on its reconnaissance ship “Ivan Khurs.”

A few weeks later, on June 11, another Russian Navy ship, Priazovye,” was attacked. The Russians managed to take high-quality images of the drone from different angles.

A new generation of naval drones has received a modified hull that has become more hydrodynamic than the original. According to some data, the weight of the drone warhead is about 200 kg, but the reliability of the information, according to Militarnyi, could not be verified.

During the design Also in the design of the USV, the Starlink satellite communication system was presumably replaced due to the company’s ban on the use of its technologies for military purposes. To do this, the company proactively imposed restrictions on the provision of communications in the Black Sea and in general to objects moving at high speed. Given the activity of drones after the ban, it can be concluded that an alternative communication network has been found.

It should be noted that during the attack on the “Ivan Khurs” ship, one of the drones reached its target and crashed into the ship but did not detonate, which indicates flaws in the design of the fuses. This suggests that second-generation drones lack an alternative way to initiate explosives in such a case.

Possible development

The disadvantage of the current drones, which was discovered during combat use, was their vulnerability to small arms fire from ships. Drones simply cannot overcome the barrage. This problem is unlikely to compensate constructively.

A possible solution would be to adapt the drone for diving in the final section of the path to the target. Diving even a meter, the visibility of the drone will plummet, and a dense layer of water will stop the bullet. The non-obvious advantage of such tactics is that they also cause damage to the target below the waterline, which multiplies the risk of sinking.

Another problem already voiced above is the possibility of incorrect operation of the impact detonator. Its work would be logically duplicated by another electronic initiator, who would be controlled from the operator’s console. This relatively simple solution could compensate for the risk of failure of the primary initiator as well as expand the possible functionality of the application.

Toloka-guided torpedoes

Simultaneously with the development of naval drones, another Ukrainian company is working on the development of underwater drones. As part of the project, one of several drone models, the Toloka TLK 150, was presented at the Brave1 Defense Cluster Conference in April.

The Toloka TLK 150 is a small torpedo drone equipped with an electric motor and a warhead of 20-50 kg of explosives. The range of the drone is 100 km. It is equipped with a mast with an antenna and a rotary camera for targeting and communication. The project is in its early stages of development.

The UUV must automatically scan the space while searching for targets using a 3D-sonar and hydrophone, or in manual mode by the operator using a camera. The project also involves the development of a neural network that would identify targets via a video channel and automatically point a drone at them.

The guidance system uses a GPS signal and an inertial navigation system in the absence of GPS (underwater) or during jamming. In cases of communication suppression by EW systems, the device identifies the source and leaves the zone of its influence.

The project also provides for the integration of a passive hydrolocation complex into the guidance system, according to which the identification and direction-finding of underwater and surface objects using a hydrophone system will occur.

In general, as part of the project, it is planned to develop three versions of UUV: TLK 150 (2.5 meters); TLK 400 (4-6 meters); TLK 1000 (4-12 meters).

The TLK 400 will receive 500 kg of explosives and have a range of 1200 kilometers. In turn, the 4- to 12-meter TLK 1000, with a range of 2000 kilometers, will be able to carry up to 5000 kg of explosives.

Attack on the bridge at Zatoka

Interest in the USV kamikaze drones did not bypass the Russian side. On February 11, 2023, the Russian military used an unmanned boat filled with explosives to strike the Zatoka bridge on the southern part of Odesa city.

There is no clear image of the vessel used; however, assessing the recording on video, it can be concluded that it was a small motor boat.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhny, shared with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Mark Milley, his concern connected with the use of sea surface drones by Russia, stating the emergence of a new threat in the Black Sea.

“Shared my concern about Russia’s use of naval surface drones, which poses a threat to civilian shipping in the Black Sea,” Zaluzhny wrote.

Sargan drone

The first model of a strike sea drone publicly shown in the Russian Federation was the Sargan project. The prototype of the drone was presented on an initiative basis by a group of developers from the Sevastopol State University and the MoreAgroBioTech scientific and educational center at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

The size of the Sargan drone is much smaller than the Ukrainian one. According to the developers, its main purpose is to escort ships, conduct reconnaissance operations, and protect the waters. It has high maneuverability with a turning radius of only 4-5 meters and self-corrects when tipping.

The presented drone is much smaller than the Ukrainian samples. It is only 2.12 meters long and 0.53 meters wide. The maximum speed is 33 knots, and the warhead weight is only 20 kg.

The warhead weight of only 20 kilograms casts doubt on the anti-ship potential of this drone due to its small weight. For comparison, Ukrainian naval drones are more than twice the length, and their weight prevails by more than 50 times.

Conclusion

The use of Ukrainian surface drones during the Russian-Ukrainian war has already shown their high efficiency and potential threat to the enemy. It was they who helped turn the tide of hostilities in the Black Sea.

Naval strike drones are still a poorly developed direction in the defense industry, but due to their significant potential, they can soon become one of the main tools for conducting combat operations, along with cruise missiles, torpedoes, mines, and naval artillery.

These systems can occupy a similar niche as air loitering munitions and Iranian kamikaze drones, which have already challenged the market dominance of expensive attack missile systems due to their affordability, ease of manufacture, and large-scale deployment.