The Ukrainian Naval Forces Commander, Vice-Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, has published intriguing footage on his social pages: the video shows an episode of Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicles (USV) operating in the Black Sea, the description explains that it depicts targeted strikes on russian armed forces.
More specifically, one of the units of the Ukrainian Navy destroyed surveillance systems that the russians had placed on gas platforms off the coast of russian-occupied Crimea, colloquially known as the Boyko Towers.
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Морські безпілотники підрозділу ВМС завдали точних ударів по російських цілях Результати роботи показав командувач Військово-Морських Сил ЗС України віце-адмірал Олексій Неїжпапа. Докладноhttps://t.co/xGrVFNsBIr pic.twitter.com/WnfNSnYaDl— Військово-Морські Сили ЗС України (@UA_NAVY) December 7, 2024
What's most interesting about the video above is that the strikes on these oil rigs were delivered not by the kamikaze boats themselves but by smaller unmanned aerial vehicles they carried, the explosive FPV drones.
In particular, the video presents several such instances showing FPV drones of an unknown type taking off from the boats' internal compartments and launching suicide attacks against their targets on those platforms. On-boat cameras capture bright explosions and a fire that broke out as a result.
This is the first time that such a combination of unmanned systems has been recorded on video and revealed to the public. However, according to Ukrainian activist and drone procurement volunteer Serhii Sternenko, the Ukrainian military has been using this tactic for quite some time.
Earlier Defense Express also covered other upgrades to the Ukrainian sea drones, such as the R-73 anti-aircraft missiles installed on Magura V5 boats for self-defense against russian helicopters or naval mine launchers and rocket pods on SeaBaby drones, etc.
Read more: First Drone is the "Hooligan": Insights on Magura V5 Tactics and Specifications From Commander 13th
