The Briefing Room
General Category => Military/Defense News => Topic started by: rangerrebew on February 23, 2024, 07:42:19 pm
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Surface Forces: Naval Warfare Will Never be the Same
February 21, 2024: The three operational Ukrainian marine USVs (Unmanned Surface Vehicles), also known as drones, are Sea Baby (Malyuk in Ukrainian), Mother (Mamai), and MAGURA which means Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus. Sea Baby and Mother were developed by the SBU (Ukrainian secret service) and the navy. They are used by the 385th Separate Brigade which specializes in naval warfare. MAGURA was developed by GUR (translated as, Main Intelligence Directorate project) and SpetsTechnoExport, a state-owned enterprise. At the end of 2023 SBU unveiled an updated Cossack Mamai with a claimed top speed of 100 kilometers an hour. Manufacture of these drones is done in underground production facilities to avoid Russian missile and guided bomb attacks.
Malyuk was used in the mid-2023 Kerch Bridge attack and was carrying 850 kg of explosives to inflict sufficient damage. MAGURA carries 320 kg of explosives while Mamai carries 450 kg. These USVs are no longer used just for delivering explosives against a target, they can also be used for reconnaissance when equipped with video cameras that broadcast what they see back to the USV operator. Some USVs have been armed with small rocket launchers. Malyuk has a range of over 700 kilometers, which means they are suitable for operations on the high seas. Endurance is about 60 hours, and top speed is over 70 kilometers an hour. MAGURA has similar characteristics. Mamai was used in the long range attack at the distant naval base at Novorossiysk on Russia’s Black Sea eastern, which is a thousand kilometers from Crimea.
Ukraine has been developing subsurface USVs and in early 2023 the first one, the Toloka2 TK-150 was introduced. This USV was 2.5 meters long and equipped with a sensor mast that remained above the surface for navigation and to identify targets. Toloka2 can also carry a small explosive warhead. More recently, Ukraine developed the larger Marichka USV that is 6 meters long and one meter in diameter. Ukraine has planned for a Western manufacturer to build and weaponize Ukrainian USVs.
https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsurf/articles/20240221.aspx
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I can see a place for such devices in the surface navy, especially if they can be emplaced in position and loiter, waiting for enemy surface combatants.
However, there is the nigling thought that if we can run them from afar, they can be hacked, and our potential enemies are working hard to do just that. We just let another small army of Chinese Nationals across the Border, without vetting, and it seems that Chinese owned business is popping up in the strangest locations close to installations in which those sort of communications could be tracked, recorded, and either analyzed there of submitted for analysys. If the Iranians can call down one of our aerial drones, it's almost sure the ability to compromise other systems is either in the works or a done deal.
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An 11-minute video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApNhYjP09vc&t=550s