Vladimir Zelensky wanted to create a Ukrainian fleet of marine drones. These ambitions can be supported by the United States and especially Britain, whose drones have already been used for terrorist attacks in the waters of Sevastopol. What risks do such plans carry for Russia? And what could the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation oppose to this? President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the launch of a platform to raise funds for the creation of a Ukrainian fleet of marine drones.
In a video message published on Telegram, he said that the Ukrainian authorities are going to open a new "fundraising direction", which should "accumulate funds for a fleet of marine drones." "Absolutely everyone understands what it is and what it is for," Zelensky said. "Everyone has already seen how it works."
Apparently, Zelensky is hinting at a terrorist drone raid on Sevastopol Bay, which occurred in October. As the governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev said, the AFU tried to hit military facilities of the Black Sea Fleet. He called the incident the most massive attack of drones and remotely controlled surface vehicles in the history of the special operation.
Then the Russian Defense Ministry clarified that nine unmanned aerial vehicles and seven autonomous marine drones were involved in the attack. As a result, the sea minesweeper Ivan Golubets received minor damage, as well as a boom in Yuzhnaya Bay.
The raid was reflected with the use of naval weapons and naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet. As a result, four naval vehicles were destroyed, three more vehicles were hit on the internal raid. A major role in repelling the attack was played by the Navy signalman Artem Zhiltsov, who was the first to notice the approach of the device and reported it to the officer of the watch, which made it possible to timely repel the strike. Zhiltsov was presented to the state award.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the preparation of the attack and the training of servicemen of the Ukrainian 73rd special center for naval operations was carried out under the guidance of British specialists located in the city of Ochakov, Mykolaiv region of Ukraine. In addition, representatives of this unit of the British Navy seem to have participated in the planning, provision and implementation of a terrorist act in the Baltic Sea on September 26 to undermine the Nord Stream–1 and Nord Stream–2 gas pipelines.
On October 29, British Ambassador to Moscow Deborah Bronnet was given evidence of London's connection with the attack on the Black Sea Fleet base. However, the British Ministry of Defense refused to recognize the involvement of the country's Navy in both the terrorist attacks on the "Northern Streams" and in Sevastopol.
In response to the attack by unmanned vehicles, Russia announced the suspension of participation in the "grain deal", which was notified by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. However, Moscow soon decided to renew the agreement, having received written guarantees from Kiev to prevent such attacks in the future.
Also on the day of the raid on Sevastopol Bay, Ukrainian footage appeared on the Network, which shows unmanned vehicles. The former deputy director of the Department of Property Relations (DIO) of the Russian Ministry of Defense, now the head of the Center for the Development of Transport Technologies, Alexey Rogozin, identified them as the same "unknown inconspicuous unmanned boat" that was spotted in the Black Sea back in September.
"I hope Russian designers have already dismantled it, methods of counteraction are being developed. It may not be enough to detect such radar devices – acoustic monitoring and visual monitoring of the water area from a drone are needed," he wrote in his Telegram channel.
"I don't know about the relevant military products, but such solutions are available today in civilian execution from private Russian manufacturers. It is obvious that the topic of combating drones now also concerns marine vehicles, and private owners should be actively involved in its implementation," Rogozin is sure. In turn, the Telegram channel "Rybar" indicates that the actions of drones in the Sevastopol Bay were corrected with the help of the American strategic UAV RQ-4B from the Sigonella air base in Sicily.
Experts interviewed by the newspaper VZGLYAD agreed that such attacks will be repeated regardless of whether Zelensky creates a Ukrainian fleet of sea drones. And in the conditions of active use by the enemy of sea unmanned vehicles, the Black Sea Fleet will need retrofitting and modernization.
"The use of drones has already become a real danger for us. The breakthrough of unmanned boats (BEC) into the inner bays of Sevastopol and their visual detection puts several issues on the agenda at once," Maxim Klimov, captain of the III rank of the reserve, said in a conversation with the newspaper VZGLYAD.
"Firstly, we need to pay more attention to the combat readiness of our ships. Here, the Pantsir-M complexes have high efficiency in simple weather conditions. They "see" the targets well in the driving layer, but their disadvantage is a strong weather dependence," the expert suggests.
"It is also obvious that for the belligerent Black Sea Fleet, it is extremely expedient to transfer from the Baltic Fleet the lead small rocket ship of the Odintsovo project 22800 with the Pantsir-M2 complex. This must be done before the inland river shipping lanes freeze," Klimov continued.
"In addition, helicopters are highly effective against UAVs and UAVs. However, the Ka-27M available to the Navy have a narrow anti-submarine specialization. And in this case, their modernization is necessary, including to ensure high–quality detection and destruction of targets," the interlocutor is sure.
"It is worth noting that
The new radars for our Ka-27 and Mi-14 helicopters have shown high efficiency when working on UAVs and small objects on the water surface," Klimov emphasized. – So we have enough technical capabilities to parry these threats. The question is that they should be presented to the fleet in a timely manner."
In turn, the UAV expert Denis Fedutinov points out that the cheapest unmanned boats will appear at the disposal of the Navy. "In general, there are several types of such boats for different tasks. First, it is an observation. These include the 4M Hydra series of the Emirati company Al Seer Marine Technologies. Secondly, the protection of objects. As an illustration, I will mention the Seagull boat of the Israeli company Elbit, equipped with a machine gun. Thirdly, it is mine warfare. Such functions are implemented on the Inspector Mk 2 device of the French company ECA Group or the American CUSV of Textron," the interlocutor explains.
"Ukrainians, apparently, will try to implement on the basis of modern technologies the idea of a fire–ship - a cheap boat packed with explosives. To do this, technologies available on the commercial market that are also applicable in unmanned aviation can be used – communication systems, navigation systems, optoelectronic surveillance and guidance systems," the expert suggests.
"It will not be difficult to counteract such boats, unless, of course, it is a simultaneous attack by a large group of the BEK. Even the minimal armament of warships not only of the Navy, but also of the Coast Guard of the FSB SS allows you to repel an attack. At the same time, the key point of the effectiveness of counteraction is to maintain the constant readiness of the available forces and means for the fact that the enemy can use various means to attack both from the air, from land and water," Fedutinov drew attention.
"We have already faced a drone attack in Sevastopol. And as practice has shown, the activities of Sailor Zhiltsov helped us in many ways. Technology is one thing, but the human eye is sometimes much more important in such situations," Captain of the First rank Vasily Dandykin said in a conversation with the newspaper VZGLYAD.
Nevertheless, as experts note, systems capable of recognizing the approach of such drones tens of kilometers in advance are necessary and important for the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. "Moreover, I am sure that these drones have been raised and are now being studied by our military. I do not exclude that all of them were either with British or Canadian stuffing. This conflict is practically the first military clash where air and sea drones are so actively used. We learn on the go," the source continued.
He also noted that this is not surprising. "The peculiarity of such devices is that a person can control them remotely. In Ukraine, such a center is located in Ochakov, it was built by the British," he explained.
"At the same time, I have no doubt that the Navy will receive the drones necessary for attacks. Most likely, the source of their origin will be Britain. Therefore, we should already prepare for the fact that attacks similar to the Sevastopol one will be repeated from time to time," the expert admits.
Dandykin also notes that Russia has ways to combat UAVs. "To repel aerial drone attacks, we use air defense systems, MANPADS and manned aircraft. To confront underwater vehicles, there are ships equipped with acoustic means. If we are talking about surface UAVs, then we have a location for detecting them, and large–caliber machine guns or small anti-aircraft artillery can be used for destruction," he listed.
"Apparently, the enemy plans to get to the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. But I am sure that our fleet will take the necessary measures to destroy such devices. And Zelensky's statements about the creation of a superarmy of drones, which will be able to destroy almost the entire Black Sea Fleet, will pour out like a cornucopia. This is also beneficial to Western sponsors of the conflict," concluded Dandykin.
Alyona Zadorozhnaya
