After Drones, the Era of Maritime Drones Has Begun
Military fleets are not only equipped with small attack drones. To support the Marine Corps in their missions, there will also be reconnaissance, landing, transport drones, and unmanned mine-sweepers.
Although the application scope of maritime drones is currently not as extensive as that of aerial drones, their history is much longer. For example, fire ships that appeared during the sailing era can be considered "primitive drones." At that time, an old ship loaded with flammable materials or explosives would be driven towards an enemy ship or enemy anchorage, and the crew would ignite the fuse and evacuate before collision. In the 1920s and 1930s, many countries, including the Soviet Union, began to conduct experiments with radio-controlled unmanned watercraft.
In the winter of 1943, the Soviet Union's first suicide drone for maritime use was deployed in the Kerch Strait, but it did not succeed. In the summer of 1944, Nazi Germany used its "Linsen" class unmanned boats (BEK) to counter the Allied landings in Normandy, achieving significant results — sinking several British and American warships and landing transport ships.
Americans also had their own unmanned boats — "Stingray" and "Vertex," which they used to destroy coastal defenses when landing on Pacific islands and the southern coast of France. In the post-war period, the military widely used maritime drones for hydrological research and radiation measurement during nuclear tests. Additionally, unmanned mine-sweepers were developed and used. In the Soviet Union, trials were conducted on the unmanned versions of the Sh-4 and G-5 series torpedo boats.
Entering the new century, interest in unmanned ships has revived. In 2008, General Dynamics delivered a "Fleet" class unmanned boat to the U.S. Navy for anti-submarine warfare. Around the same time, Russia also began developing military maritime drones, but before the special military operation started, the focus was on strategic underwater unmanned vehicles, especially the "Poseidon" — an attack drone equipped with a nuclear power unit and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
In the 2010s, the UK Special Boat Service (SBS), a unit specializing in maritime raids, launched a program to develop unmanned boats. Notably, they did not develop entirely new unmanned boats, but instead modified existing civilian drones to meet their mission requirements. These civilian drones were originally used for hydrological research, garbage cleanup, and water motorcycles. Research was also conducted in Ochakov, and since 2019, the 73rd Independent Maritime Special Operations Center of the Ukrainian Navy has effectively become a training base and test field for the UK SBS. Long before the special military operation began, this center had practiced the possibility of using unmanned boats to conduct raids on Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels and infrastructure, as well as civilian ships and port facilities. In particular, within the framework of this program, the UK provided a certain number of underwater unmanned drones manufactured by Kongsberg Defence to the Kiev regime, which could be modified for raid missions.
After the start of the special military operation, the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile attack on the 73rd Center in Ochakov, destroying its equipment and killing some personnel, which affected the implementation of the enemy's plan. Therefore, the enemy did not organize the first unmanned boat attack on the pillars of the Crimean Bridge, Russian ships, and port infrastructure until July 2022. The unmanned boats used were based on the chassis of water motorcycles, called "Sea Baby." Soon after, these drones were equipped with the "Magura-5" unmanned boats. Although these weapons were claimed to be exclusively developed by Ukraine, they were actually assembled from foreign components under the guidance of British experts according to British designs. Their performance is unstable, not only because of continuous modernization, but also due to logistical difficulties and varying assembly conditions. Our armed forces and special forces are targeting all goals related to Ukrainian unmanned boats, continuously attacking their assembly workshops and component warehouses.
The enemy's attack-type maritime drones are general-purpose platforms, not only usable as suicide weapons, but also for reconnaissance, as a carrier and relay platform for FPV drones, and can also be equipped with launch rails for the 122 mm "Grad" rocket launcher. After we started using helicopters and fighter jets to counter the enemy's unmanned boats, they began installing R-73 air-to-air missiles and "Stinger" portable air defense missile launchers on the unmanned boats. The Ukrainian unmanned boats are controlled via the Starlink satellite internet — drones are equipped with communication antennas and terminals.
The enemy's attack-type maritime drones have caused serious problems for the Black Sea Fleet and the entire Black Sea port infrastructure, demonstrating high efficiency at minimal cost.
The British have incorporated their experience into the development of their own maritime drones, with the development based on modular principles, ensuring the versatility of the drones and significantly reducing production costs. Particularly now, the British military has formulated technical requirements for multi-purpose, low-observable, unmanned surface and underwater vehicles (USSV), which can perform a wide range of tasks from reconnaissance, cargo transportation, and landing troops to implementing strikes. Notably, one of the requirements is that the unmanned boat can fit into a 40-foot ISO container, which obviously means it can be launched from civilian ships.
Russia lags slightly in the production of attack-type unmanned boats, simply because Ukraine does not have a navy that we can use these unmanned boats against. However, we have evaluated the gained experience and drawn corresponding conclusions. The Russian defense industry complex has begun mass production of maritime drones. In July 2025, in St. Petersburg, a joint production center for maritime drones was established based on the military-industrial holding company "Kamaz" (KMZ). The factory has already mass-produced various multi-functional unmanned platforms capable of performing tasks ranging from transportation to attacks. These platforms also have the capability to intercept enemy unmanned boats and act as small drone carriers. During the recent "July Storm" exercise held by the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea, the Russian Navy not only practiced defending against enemy drones but also used unmanned boats and drones to strike simulated enemies.
This is a direct response to the actions of our opponents in the Baltic Sea. In January 2025, NATO deployed the "Baltic Sentry" vigilance plan ("Vigilance Activity 'Baltic Sentry'") to "enhance situational awareness and deter hostile actions," with a key aspect being the widespread use of unmanned systems.
In June 2025, the NATO Joint Force Command organized a series of demonstration trials, including stress testing of over 40 maritime unmanned systems manufactured by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany. These trials took place in the Baltic Sea, where the Western bloc views the area as the most likely battlefield.
Notably, the United States and Britain are engaged in the mass production of modular, low-observable drones, with a large number of 3D-printed polymer parts used. Moreover, rather than major defense contractors, startups such as Anduril Industries, a Pentagon contractor, are playing an increasingly significant role in this area.
The main countries of the Western alliance are building a true fleet of unmanned raiders, which are numerous, low-cost, and capable of crippling the enemy's maritime traffic lines, including telecommunications and energy routes. However, this is a game that can be played on both sides, and our opponents, as a maritime power, are more vulnerable in this regard.
Experts compare suicide drones to the emergence of torpedo boats (minesweepers) in the late 19th century, which temporarily made people question the effectiveness of large armored ships. However, countermeasures against this new challenge emerged, although torpedoes have become an important part of the naval arsenal.
But the unmanned systems equipped on military fleets are not only small attack drones. For example, to support the Marine Corps in their missions, reconnaissance, landing, transport drones, and unmanned mine-sweepers will also be deployed. Currently, unmanned patrol boats and anti-submarine drones are being built, which will patrol designated areas. In addition to the aforementioned "Poseidon," nuclear-powered unmanned missile submarines are expected to appear, which are more compact and quieter than conventional nuclear submarines, able to carry out combat duty for years, returning to base only for routine maintenance.
The era of maritime drones has begun, and Russia is still in its initial stage.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540965826850800143/
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