MAGURA-class kamikaze unmanned surface vehicle

During the Russian-Ukrainian war (since 2022), Ukraine has developed several new models of strike unmanned surface vessels (USVs), which can be considered successors to branders. With these devices, the country conducts attacks on Russian military ships and coastal infrastructure. These vessels carry explosive charges that detonate near the target.

Later, unmanned vehicles were created that can be used for a wider range of tasks: maritime reconnaissance, monitoring coastal activities, supporting the national fleet, escorting merchant vessels, adjusting artillery fire accuracy, and striking military ships and infrastructure.

These unmanned vessels, along with the supply of Western anti-ship missiles, have shifted the balance of power in favor of Ukraine during the battles in the Black Sea, as they restrained the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. Russian naval forces lost their initiative at sea and were forced to stay much closer to the docks of Novorossiysk and Tuapse.

Ukrainian specialists continue to develop modernized versions of maritime drones that differ in both appearance and technical characteristics.