Ukraine’s Sea Drone
Magura V5 Sea Drone
The sea drone that’s lifting Ukraine morale as it hunts Russian ships
By Barry Hatton
Uncrewed, remote-controlled boats have been around since the end of World War II. Late last century, technological innovations broadened their potential uses.
Lethal, advanced sea drones developed and deployed by Ukraine in its war with Russia have opened a new chapter in that story.
Ukraine claims it is the first country to set up a specific unit dedicated to producing them. Yemen-based Houthis have also deployed armed unmanned surface vessels as suicide drone boats that explode upon impact.
The 2-year-old Ukraine conflict has become a laboratory for new military technology, and naval drones are set to become an essential part of the combat toolbox in 21st-century warfare.
What are sea drones?
Unmanned vessels — also called drone boats or maritime drones — have had a broad range of applications for years. They have been employed for scientific research, search and rescue operations, surveillance and coastal patrols.Ukraine has loaded them with explosives. The sleek vessels speed across the water’s surface, trailing a wake of white foam, and have a low radar signature that makes them hard to detect.
They are equipped with advanced GPS and cameras.
The Magura V5 sea drone that Ukraine says it used in the Black Sea on Tuesday appears to be Kyiv’s latest version. The craft wouldn’t look out of place in a James Bond movie.
The Magura is 5.5 meters (18 feet) long, weighs up to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds), has a range of up to 800 kilometers (500 miles), 60 hours of battery life, and a 200-kilogram (440-pound) payload, according to Ukrainian authorities. It also beams live video to operators.
The tactic seems to have evolved into a swarm of five or six drones to overwhelm the target ship’s defenses, which aren’t optimized for this kind of attack in the first place.
The lead drone in the swarm is tasked to immobilize its target by hitting the engine area, then the next in line attacks the vulnerable midships. If a breach is achieved, follow-up attacks are aimed at that spot.
The first reported attack with the drones occurred on 24 May of last year, targeting the Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs. The number of drones used was not specified, but the Russians claim to have destroyed three and that the attack failed. A Ukraine video confirmed that at least two drones were damaged by fire from the ship but one definitely struck the rear of Ivan Khurs and probably caused severe damage.
The Ropucha class landing ship Caesar Kunikov and the Tarantul class corvette Ivanovets have also been sunk in recent sea drone attacks.
Amazing how far technology has come since the 80s
Hunter Biden: So I jump rehab in Pennsylvania and I make my way over to Western Maryland, and I get on as a looper at a course over at Camp David.
Rachel Maddow: A looper?
Hunter Biden: A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I’m a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The POTUS, himself. First son of the Joe Senior. The flowing urine, the confused look, bald… striking. So, I’m on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one – big hitter, the Big Guy – long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Big Guy says? Gunga galunga… gunga, gunga-lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, “Hey, Dad, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will be surrounded by Russian hookers and cocaine.” So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🤣
All sins forgiven, Mr. Stone.
I’m starting to think that Carl Speckler made it all up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erjUYo0-MNw
I was a caddy back in 1959 as 14 year old kid working at the Long Island Woodmere Country club in NY and was caddy for a lady for 9 holes. After we were done, the lady asked me if I wanted to go home with her for lemonade and I said that I wasn’t thirsty and that was it. Back at the Caddy Shack I told some of the guys whom were older than me about what the lady said and next thing I knew, they were giving me head nuggies and telling me what the young Lady was up to. Bonomos turkish taffy owner was a member along with Red Buttons and a couple of others whom I cannot remember.
“440-pound payload”
Seems a bit light and I’ll bet that battery weighs as much.
Probably a shape charge and a 440 pound shape charge would definitely blow a very large and deep hole.
The K-factor from the water helps push the blast in the hull.
The video from the Russian ship.
nJK3a_irUN4
I wonder if a Phalanx CIWS would be able to handle this new
modern form of anti ship warfare.
It’s an old system for sure but I’m curious.
Those crew members must have had a sinking feeling when the first one hit.
Game changer, at least for the short term. I guess that We, The People paid for these? $200k+- a pop divided by $100 billion would buy a bunch of them. Now, is Big Navy working on a counter for when OUR ships see these coming toward them? I’m all for using any delivery platform available for putting steel on target…’specially when it’s OUR steel being put on the bad guy target. Would these be classified as “swimming” Artillery Platforms?
How are they on the “open/high” seas? Can the control signal be jammed? Visible to “look down” RADAR? Sub launch version in the works? P-8 SONAR Bay upgrades to carry these?
Speaking of things that We, The People are paying for, here’s the latest thing that sniffy creepy preezy wants us to pay for.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-have-us-military-build-port-gaza
Can we go ahead and embed explosives in the dock supports? That way when we have to blow it up later we can do it much more safely.
As gratifying as it must be to sink the Black Sea fleet they have been practically useless in the war anyway, so it really isn’t a game changer. If, they get around to dropping that bridge that would be a game changer.
No sad faces when the Houthis sink a US warship at Norfolk harbor.
This is proxy war America wants to live in.
That is impossible. When Trump finished the wall after being re-elected in 2020, It made it illegal immigration practically impossible…. Damn my day drinking…
I’ll post another one of these
Nice little score card
So, a big surface-running guided torpedo. Wet cruise missile.
Would a drone-boat be better used to launch real torpedoes?
Major complaint from the Ukraine Army is that they’re running out of Polish pilots to fly the damn things…
hey!hey!HEY!! That’s the first Polish joke I’ve told in years, so, back off!
What’s the best way to piss off a big dumb Polack moderator?
*grin*