With Drones and Missiles, Ukraine Wreaks Havoc on Russian Black Sea Fleet & Will get Navy Commander Fired

Ukraine is a nation with no navy and but has succeeded in wreaking havoc on the Russian Black Sea Fleet utilizing high-tech sea drones and anti-ship missiles. The Ukrainians have continued to sink Russian warships, as not too long ago as final week, ensuing within the dismissal of the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy.  

As we famous in a publish final August, when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, no less than 100 Ukrainian Navy vessels, representing 75% of the Ukrainian naval fleet, had been captured by Russian forces. Within the Russian invasion of 2022, a lot of the remaining fleet was destroyed or scuttled to forestall seize.

Missing ships, the Ukranians have developed drones, together with high-tech sea drones, to counter the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with exceptional success.  Combating again towards the Russian fleet has restricted the Russian’s potential to launch cruise missiles from the Black Sea towards Ukrainian civilian and navy targets. Difficult Russia’s naval superiority additionally has helped create extra favorable situations for Ukrainian grain exports and different shipments from the nation’s Black Sea ports. 

Final week, a swarm of Ukrainian sea drones reportedly sank the Russian patrol ship Sergei Kotov. In February, swarms of Ukrainian sea drones additionally sank the Russian touchdown ship Caesar Kunikov and the missile corvette Ivanovets.

Using swarms of remote-controlled drone boats laden with explosives has allowed Ukraine to tip the scales of naval warfare in its favor regardless of Russia’s huge superiority in firepower. The Magura drones, used within the latest assaults, are outfitted with superior GPS and cameras, and have a low radar signature that makes them onerous to detect. Group-13, a secretive unit of Ukraine’s navy intelligence company, has been behind the drone assaults.

The Magura, named after a Slavic goddess of warfare, appears like a small motorboat with a flat floor as a substitute of passenger seats. Its newest model, the Magura V5, is 5.5 meters (18 ft) lengthy, weighs as much as 1,000 kilograms (2,200 kilos) and has a variety of as much as 800 kilometers (500 miles), 60 hours of battery life, and a 200-kilogram (440-pound) payload, in response to Ukrainian authorities. It additionally beams dwell video to operators.

Russian warships and their crews haven’t been the one casualties of the Ukrainian drone offensive. Adm. Nikolai Evmenov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, has not too long ago been dismissed, changed by the commander of the Northern Fleet, Adm. Aleksandr Moiseev.

Because of Alaric Bond for contributing to this publish.