Ukrainian Navy Drone Boat Defeats Russian Explosive Drone in Historic Naval Battle

In a historic event, the Ukrainian Navy utilized a drone boat with a remotely controlled machine gun turret to neutralize a Russian explosive drone boat, marking the world’s first drone-boat collision. The conflict in Ukraine has witnessed the widespread deployment of unmanned surface vessels, attack drones, and ground robots in combat situations.

The engagement commenced on September 12, when the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Service detected a Russian unmanned surface vessel (USV) in the Black Sea. They promptly dispatched a Ukrainian Navy drone boat to intercept the threat. The Russian vessel, identified as an Orkan water drone equipped with a specialized water jet designed for ramming and detonation, was targeted and destroyed.

Orkan drones have been previously utilized to launch attacks on Ukrainian ports and ships, often operating in conjunction with reconnaissance flying drones like Russia’s Geland models. These unmanned vessels are instrumental in enhancing communication between operators and drone boats, as highlighted by Naval Analyst HI Sutton.

The decisive moment unfolded when the Russian drone was cornered by the Ukrainian Sargun-3000 drone boat armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun on a remote weapons station provided by Kongsberg, a Norwegian company.

“The clash between unmanned surface vessels was an inevitable development,” mentioned Sutton in an interview with New Scientist magazine. “Similar scenarios have been observed in aerial and ground engagements.”

A video capturing the encounter has been released by the Ukrainian Navy, showcasing the Sargan-3000 engaging the Russian drone from a kilometer away, effectively destroying its communication antenna before ultimately sinking the adversary. Witness the historic moment on the Ukrainian government media platform United24.