The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue making military history. For the first time, FPV drones were used to successfully strike a military vessel — the russian Buyan-M corvette, armed with Kalibr cruise missiles. Until now, drones had targeted boats and ships, but never military vessels of this class.
This happened in the Sea of Azov in the Temryuk Bay on August 28, 2025, thanks to the skill of the fighters of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. This day is quite symbolic, as it appears that on August 28, 1952, the first combat use of an FPV drone took place.
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The strike distance was over 350 km. At this range, both weapon control and targeting were successfully achieved. The first step in attacking an enemy ship is knowing its exact location.
Given that the attack was carried out by the Prymary unit, which methodically destroys enemy air defense systems in occupied Crimea, the strike was most likely carried out by RUBAKA and/or UJ-26 Bober drones. As a result of the strike, the ship's radar was reportedly disabled as well as its side was damaged.
Alongside this historic achievement and the Kalibr missile carrier being sent for repairs, it should be noted that the attack highlights the vulnerability of russian ships. The video shows the Buyan-M actively maneuvering, indicating that its crew is aware of the threat.
However, its air defense systems were not involved in repelling the attack. At the same time, Buyan-M has a sufficient number of air defense assets. It is the AK-630M2 Duet system. The AK-630M2 Duet was created in russia in the late 2000s by combining two six-barrel AO-18 cannons mounted on the body of the AK-630M1-2 Roy system.
According to the plan, this system is designed to destroy not only drones but also cruise missiles, helicopters, and aircraft. However, the video does not show any firing from the AK 630-M2 Duet. The system seems incapable of engaging any threat.
It is quite difficult to say why this happened, as the ship's crew clearly responded to threats. It is possible that the limitation lies in the ability of the surveillance and fire-control radars to track such threats, even though the system is also equipped with an optical targeting system. The issue could also be related to the fire-control system itself, which should be managed via a backup collimator unit. In any case, the ship's air defense system failed.
This is particularly important since these corvettes are the core of the Black Sea Fleet and the Caspian Flotilla, which include seven such ships, along with four more serving in the Baltic Fleet. The large landing ships Ivan Gren and Pyotr Morgunov are also equipped with AK-630M2 Duet systems.
Notably, the Ukrainian drone strike damaged the russian corvette's radar, specifically the MR-352 Positiv system, rendering the ship effectively "blind". This radar is responsible for detecting both sea and air targets. Repairing such equipment is a lengthy process.
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