An unusual attack drone has been discovered in the Black Sea. What is it notable for and to whom does it belong?

A marine drone with American and Soviet parts was found off the coast of Romania

An unusual marine drone was discovered in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. It combines Soviet and American details.

On April 3, the Romanian search and rescue vessel Artemis discovered an overturned watercraft 20 miles east of Tuzla. Experts have found out that this is a marine attack drone. It is clarified that its basis is the rigid inflatable boat AM-800 with an aluminum hull, manufactured by Silver Ships in Alabama. They are usually supplied for fire and rescue operations.

The length of the AM-800 with outboard motors is 9.5 meters, the authors of the Naval News portal write. This is almost twice the length of the Magura and Sea Baby boats used by Ukraine. Because of this size, the ship is visible from afar and becomes vulnerable, but this compensates for the power of the armament.

A marine drone based on the AM-800 boat.
Source: ForPost

The drone may belong to Ukraine

It is known that a warhead from the Soviet anti-ship missile (PKR) P-20 Termit (according to the NATO classification "Styx") is mounted on a wooden frame. The explosive is about 500 kilograms. At the same time, the American Harpoon missile defense system (in service with the Ukrainian army) has 225, and the Ukrainian—made Neptune missile defense system has 150.

Although the ownership of the vessel was not officially disclosed, some Romanian media assumed that it was Ukrainian. This is evidenced by the American marine drone corps. The manufacturer of Silver Ships previously supplied Ukraine with a vessel, the name of which is not specified, as part of US assistance. Thus, the most obvious thing is that it is Ukrainian, Naval News points out. Perhaps it turned over further north and drifted to the place where it was found.

At the same time, it is possible that the marine drone may be Russian. The publication notes that both Russia and Ukraine have "Termites".

The Russian military described the capabilities of the AFU Magura boat

In November 2023, the boat washed up on the coast of Crimea, and it became a trophy of the Russian military. According to a military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve Vasily Dandykin, the unmanned Magura V5 boat, which is used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), is difficult to detect at sea. "The biggest difficulty is to find this boat at sea, as it is of a semi—submersible type. On the other hand, we have learned how to do this," the expert shared.

According to him, such a boat can be destroyed even by machine gun fire, since it has no reservation.

Production of Dandelion unmanned marine drones has been prepared in Russia

KMZ Holding is to start mass production of marine drones for the Russian Ministry of Defense in 2024. The first experimental batch of devices is being tested in the area of a special military operation.

"Significant investments of funds in the development of propulsion systems, conservation of small-sized vehicles today will give a return in the rapid and mass production of such types of drone boats," said Mikhail Danilenko, managing director of the company. As previously reported, the unmanned boat is capable of attacking naval targets, ports and naval military bases. The drone carries a combat load of up to 600 kilograms.

The AFU also has kamikaze marine drones. These fireboats are high-speed unmanned boats controlled by radio. In particular, the Marichka drone is capable of moving quickly underwater and can be used to strike ships and port infrastructure.