In recent days, videos have been published of an attack on a Russian vessel in the Black Sea by an unmanned vessel, apparently Ukrainian.
In the videos, a video is shown, taken from a thermal camera, at a very low height from the surface of the water. It is not possible to understand whether the vessel is a semi-submersible vessel or a very low vessel, similar to the one found on the beach in Sevastopol, near the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet. The finding of the unmanned vessel was published by us on 24.9.
The Ukrainian vessel was based on a kayak, to which an engine, steering system, fenders and a remote control system were adapted. An explosive device was planted in this vessel, which is supposed to be activated by tapping or by remote activation.
In a video released yesterday, the small vessel is seen sailing near a Russian warship and a merchant ship in the Sevastopol area. According to the video, the Russian warship is an Admiral Grigorovich frigate. In another part of the video, which was taken from the beach, an explosion can be seen in the middle of the sea. It is not yet clear whether there was damage to the Russian ship.
According to a Ukrainian report, this attack on the Russian naval base in Sevastopol was carried out using eight unmanned aircraft and seven unmanned vessels. A combined and timed attack with an interesting concept, in which the unmanned vessels collect real-time information about targets in the port, indicate the targets to the operators of the aircraft, and together an attack is carried out from the sea and from the air.
If the report is true, this is certainly an application of innovation in naval warfare theory of using unmanned vessels.
The Russian defense broadcaster announced in response that the Ukrainian attack was carried out against a Russian vessel that was escorting a merchant ship carrying grain. Following the attack, Russia announced that it would suspend the agreement signed with it under the auspices of Turkey, to continue exporting grain from Ukraine to African and Middle Eastern countries.
The Ukrainians use asymmetric measures against the Russians, the unmanned vessels that were developed during the war are an excellent example of this. These vessels, which entered operational service a few weeks ago, may well have an impact on the naval battlefield in the Black Sea, where the Ukrainian Navy certainly achieved impressive achievements against the Black Sea Fleet.