Design features and combat characteristics allow it to be used both in the Black Sea and on the Dnieper
The production of a new attack unmanned boat will begin at two sites in the North-West of Russia after the completion of combat tests in the SVO zone, the Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant told Izvestia. The Russian Defense Ministry instructed the company to produce an experimental batch after the prototype of the Vizir product was presented at the Army-2023 exhibition. The new unmanned boat is almost entirely made of domestic components, and its combat effectiveness surpasses foreign analogues, the developers assure.
Tests on the Dnieper
The Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant (KMZ) is preparing for serial production in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense of a new attack unmanned launch (BEC), Mikhail Danilenko, managing director of the enterprise, told Izvestia.
— We have prepared two production sites in the North-West of Russia, where we will be able to quickly organize large—scale production, we are waiting for successful tests, - he stressed.
The prototype of the product — the unmanned hydrographic boat "Vizir" — was presented by KMZ at the exhibition "Army-2023". According to a source of Izvestia in the Russian Defense Ministry, the military department became interested in the development, and instructed the company to produce an experimental batch based on a new technical specification.
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| GRK-700 "Vizir". |
| Source: Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant |
— Special operations forces will conduct tests of the BACKUP in combat conditions. The boat can hit both sea targets and objects at the water's edge, such as enemy coastal bases or port facilities. Dimensions, small draft and low visibility give us the opportunity for combat use in the Dnieper riverbed," the interlocutor of the publication stressed.
The developer in the open press states the following characteristics: combat load up to 600 kg, range of application up to 120 nautical miles, water jet propellers provide a speed of up to 45 knots. The boat has a small freeboard height, is made of composite materials, which reduces its radar visibility as much as possible. The drone can also be equipped as a transport boat, interceptor of enemy sea drones or carrier of an aerial unmanned reconnaissance.
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| GRK-700 "Vizir". |
| Source: Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant |
There are other special characteristics that manufacturers have not yet disclosed for reasons of secrecy. First of all, we are talking about the method of remote control of the drone — it differs from the one used in foreign analogues.
The name for the Russian combat marine drone has not yet been invented, Mikhail Danilenko told Izvestia.
— The name will be given by the customer, among ourselves we call it "Disposable". In the shock version, the boat delivers the combat load to the target, and dies in an explosion, so the task was to make it as simple and cheap as possible to manufacture, we coped with it," the representative of KMZ stressed.
Mikhail Danilenko also said that the production of drone components is almost completely localized in Russia, with the exception of part of the electronic equipment. When entering mass production, electronics will also be localized, he is sure.
Effective fighters
The course of the special military operation proved that sea-based crew boats can be very effective. The Russian army successfully used such equipment, in particular, in February 2023, when attacking a bridge in the Zatoka of the Odessa region, along which military cargo was transported by the VFU.
Mikhail Danilenko did not confirm to Izvestia the use of his development in this attack. Captured Ukrainian boats were also not transferred to the designers of KMZ, according to him.
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| Magura V5 unmanned boat. |
| Source: Social Networks |
— Of course, we studied open sources, watched videos of tests and applications of foreign unmanned boats, but there are no Western technological solutions in our development.
The Navy is also actively using marine drones to attack the bases of the Black Sea Fleet, ships and vessels performing combat missions at sea — about a hundred such cases have been recorded during the time of the CSO. At the first stage, while the fleet forces did not have the proper experience in dealing with them, the enemy even managed to achieve some success — warships and auxiliary vessels of the Black Sea Fleet, coastal facilities in the Crimea and Novorossiysk received damage.
In any water area
The new Russian drone can be used in the waters of any sea washing Russia, as well as on the Dnieper, Dmitry Kornev, editor of the Military Russia portal, told Izvestia.
According to the expert, the combat capabilities of the boat allow it to be used for strikes on areas where landing troops are being loaded or unloaded, on coastal objects, if they are located near the shore.
— With the help of it, it is possible to strike at transport infrastructure — bridges, pontoon crossings, berths, — he believes. — These drones can be used on the Dnieper — the dimensions allow it. Most likely, they will be involved in the conduct of special operations by the relevant units. 600 kg of explosives on board make this drone a marine analogue of the Iskander.
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| Sea "Iskander". |
| Source: iz.ru |
According to the expert, it will most likely be controlled from airplanes, helicopters and UAVs.
— This requires a direct radio channel, — said Dmitry Kornev. — Stable communication should be throughout the entire range of the drone. To control such a boat, long-range radar detection aircraft of the A-50 type, reconnaissance, and in the future stratospheric drones can be used. In the future, it will be possible to use satellite communications. This will happen after the satellite constellation is deployed, ensuring uninterrupted transmission of information to the consumer on the ground. Here it is worth remembering about the communication project "Sphere". Perhaps it will help to realize such opportunities.
Unmanned "Mikols"
The VFU is armed with several types of marine unmanned boats. The Ukrainian authorities declare their own production of marine drones, however, experts are sure that this is the maximum "screwdriver" assembly of NATO drones, Ukraine simply does not have its own technologies. It is known that the VFU drones are controlled via Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communication system.
The Mikola-3 marine kamikaze drones are a 5.5—meter boat with a range of up to 60 hours and a maximum speed of 45 knots. It carries up to 200 kg of explosives on board, but its quantity depends on the distance to the target — the further away, the less. According to experts, the American MANTAS T-12 reconnaissance drones are taken as the basis of the Mikola.
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| The Mikola-3 marine drone. |
| Source: topwar.ru |
The Ukrainian side stated that the Crimean Bridge was attacked on July 17, 2023 by a surface unmanned drone "Sea Baby" (Sea Baby). He allegedly delivered up to 850 kg of explosives to one of the concrete pillars. There is almost no information about him in the public domain.
Another unmanned boat, the MAGURA V5, was demonstrated by the Ukrainian state—owned company SpetsTechnoExport in July at the IDEF 2023 international defense exhibition in Istanbul. The maximum range of the five—meter back is about 450 nautical miles, the maximum speed is up to 45 knots, and the payload is 320 kg. It can be controlled by radio communication from an aerial repeater or by satellite communication.
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| The T-12 boat at the SNA-2018 exhibition. |
| Source: Navy recognition |
The USA actively uses MANTAS T-series devices — these are multipurpose unmanned surface drones developed by Maritime Tactical Systems (MARTEC). They are designed to perform combat missions of the US Navy, including it can be used as a kamikaze drone.
In 2020, the UK bought a batch of such unmanned boats. The drone is small — just under 4 meters, the maximum cruising range is about 120 miles, the payload weight is up to 63.5 kg.
In April 2022, the US Department of Defense announced the dispatch of $800 million worth of "unmanned coastal defense vessels" to Ukraine as part of the assistance package.
Shipbuilders from Kingisepp
The Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant has been producing boats for the power structures of Russia since 2013. The total amount of the company's contracts in 2022, according to SPARK, amounted to about 160 million rubles, the share of military orders is not disclosed. In April 2023, Mikhail Danilenko became the sole owner of this holding. Previously, he controlled a third of the shares.
KMZ has been cooperating with the Russian Ministry of Defense for about ten years. According to SPARK, in 2016 the company signed two contracts with the military department. One of them is for the repair of diesel engines of ships and vessels of the Baltic Fleet in the amount of about 200 million rubles.
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| The boat "Bottlenose Dolphin". |
| Source: Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant |
Also in 2023, the holding fulfilled a contract for the supply of six Afalina boats to Rosgvardiya in the amount of about 250 million rubles.
In April 2020, the State Duma passed a law allowing the executors of state defense orders not to post a procurement plan on the Internet. And since January 1, 2022, by order of the government, data on purchases of law enforcement agencies are classified.
Andrey Krasnobayev
Julia Leonova
Bogdan Stepovoy
