December 5, 2024: 2024: The three operational Ukrainian maritime drones are Sea Baby, Mother, and MAGURA. Sea Baby and Mother were developed by the Ukrainian secret service, or SBU, and the navy. They are used by the 385th Separate Brigade which specializes in naval warfare. MAGURA was developed by the Main Intelligence Directorate project, or GUR, and SpetsTechnoExport, a state-owned firm. At the end of 2023 SBU unveiled an updated Cossack Mother with a claimed top speed of 100 kilometers an hour. Manufacture of these drones is done in underground facilities to avoid Russian missile and guided bomb attacks.

Sea Baby was used in the mid-2023 Kerch Bridge attack and was carrying 850 kg of explosives. MAGURA carries 320 kg of explosives while Mamai carries 450 kg. These drones are no longer used just for delivering explosives against a target, they can also be used for reconnaissance when equipped with video cameras that broadcast what they see back to the drone operator. Some drones have been armed with small rocket launchers. Malyuk has a range of over 700 kilometers, which means they are suitable for operations on the high seas. Endurance is about 60 hours, and top speed is over 70 kilometers an hour. MAGURA has similar characteristics. Mamai was used in the long range attack at the distant naval base at Novorossiysk on Russia’s Black Sea eastern, which is a thousand kilometers from Crimea.

Ukraine has been developing subsurface drones since 2022 and in early 2023 the first one, the Toloka2 TK-150, was introduced. This drone was 2.5 meters long and equipped with a sensor mast that remained above the surface for navigation and to identify targets. Toloka2 can also carry a small explosive warhead. More recently, Ukraine developed the larger Marichka drone that is 6 meters long and one meter in diameter. Ukraine plans for a Western manufacturer to build and weaponize Ukrainian drones.

Ukrainian drones have been quite successful in attacking and sinking or disabling Russian ships. So far there have been twelve attacks which resulted in damage to twelve ships and the sinking of a cruiser, two small landing ships and one missile corvette. The longest range raids have been against targets in Kerch Strait and the more distant naval base at Novorossiysk.

To put the drone attacks in perspective, here is a list of Russian ship losses in the Black Sea since the Russians invaded Ukraine in February 2022:

March 2022/Ukraine used anti-tank missiles and armed drones to destroy three patrol boats and inflict heavy damage on two. Later in March a Russian naval base was attacked, sinking a landing ship and damaging other ships that were able to leave the base. One of these ships was on fire and Russia eventually sank it to prevent the munitions on board from exploding. Russia later raised that ship, made temporary repairs on the hull and towed the ship away to where the damage could be repaired.

A Russian corvette was damaged and towed away to be repaired.

April 2022/A Russian cruiser, the Moskva, was damaged and eventually sank after being hit by land-based Ukrainian anti-ship missiles. Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.

May 2022/An armed drone was used to sink a Russian assault boat. A nearby Russian landing craft was also sunk by an armed drone.

June 2022/A damaged Russian corvette was towed away to be repaired in a Russian base. Ukraine used two anti-ship missiles to sink a Russian rescue tug.

October 2022/Ukraine used drones to attack and damage a Russian minesweeper.

May 2023/Ukrainian drones destroyed a Russian intelligence gathering ship.

August 2023/Ukrainian drones attacked and damaged a Russian landing ship near the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk in the eastern Black Sea. Because of this, Russia stopped using Novorossiysk even though it was nearly a thousand kilometers east of Crimean. Ukrainian drones operating that far east convinced Russia that the base was no longer safe to use. Russian ships dispersed to even more distant Black Sea ports.

September 2023/Ukrainian warplanes used long-range British guided bombs to attack a Crimean naval base at Sevastopol. A Russian landing ship was sunk and a submarine in drydock was damaged beyond repair.

November 2023/Ukraine used cruise missiles to attack a Russian shipyard in Crimea to damage a Russian corvette so severely that the corvette was beyond repair.

December 2023/Ukraine used air-launched cruise missiles to destroy a large Russian landing ship docked in a Crimean port. A little later in December Ukrainian drones and air strikes sank a Russian patrol ship.

February 2024/Ukrainian drones attacked and sank a Russian corvette based in Crimea. Later that month Ukraine used drones to attack and damage a Russian landing ship off the coast of Crimea.

Ukrainian drone operations in the Black Sea forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet to withdraw to the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Sevastopol was no longer a safe place to be, and Russian ships could no longer launch their Kalibr cruise missiles without risking attack by Ukrainian drones. The presence and aggressive use of the drones means that Ukraine’s grain corridor has been kept open despite Russia’s threats to interfere. Beyond symbolic significance, the corridor holds critical economic importance for Ukraine and is expected to contribute 5 to 7 percent of GDP growth in 2024 because of the grain shipments.

The aggressive and successful use of Ukrainian drones against the Russian Black Sea fleet was unprecedented in the history of naval warfare. Not only were these drones tactically successful but financially as well. For example, new frigates cost about $1.5 billion each. That much money can also pay for 5,000 drones. Destroyers cost twice as much as frigates. The frigates and destroyers are high seas ships that can travel all over the world. The drones operate in coastal waters although some of the larger drones can operate up to a thousand kilometers from where they were launched. These drones carry video cameras and satellite-based communications systems to collect information and, in peacetime, do so without fear of attack. Severe storms are another matter, but any storm damage will be broadcast as it is happening, at least until the video cameras or communications equipment is disabled.

Commercial cargo ships can carry hundreds of armed drones equipped with satellite communications so operators anywhere in the world can control them. These drones can be unloaded at sea and sent to carry out attacks on targets in the area or move to a nearby harbor and remain tied to a dock until needed. The only maintenance is keeping the drone batteries charged. These drones are a radical new weapon for naval warfare and the war at sea will never be the same because of the success of Ukrainian drones in their victorious campaign against the Russian Black Sea Fleet.