Ukrainian Navy creates a brigade of naval drones
26 August, 2023 Ukrainian naval kamikaze drone on the coast of Crimea. Photo from open sources A separate brigade for the use of naval drones has been formed within the Ukrainian Navy.
The creation of the new brigade was announced during the celebrations on the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day. On August 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented state awards, insignia to military units and combat flags with ribbons, and honorary titles on St. Sophia Square.
In particular, the 385th Separate Special Purpose Unmanned Surface Vehicle Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy received a battle flag. Previously, the existence of such a unit in the Ukrainian Navy was not publicly reported.
Ukrainian MAGURA V5 naval drone. July 2023.
Footage from CNN video
In view of this, it can be stated that for the first time in history, a separate brigade for the combat use of USV has been formed within the Navy of Ukraine. Presumably, it is this unit that attacks Russian military facilities in the occupied Crimea and enemy ships in the Black Sea with unmanned boats. However, for obvious reasons, the activities of the 385th Separate Special Purpose Unmanned Surface Vehicle Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy are not publicized.
Use of naval drones
As previously reported, the Head of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, said that naval drones were an effective weapon.
According to him, Ukraine has already mastered "normal serial production" of such unmanned boats. However, Kyrylo Budanov refused to name the number of naval drones used to accomplish the tasks.
Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Photo credits: Defence Intelligence
"For obvious reasons, we cannot say how many drones there are.
But, as you can see, our footage, the footage recorded by the Armed Forces, the footage published by the SSU. It's not difficult to calculate how many there should be," Budanov told Radio Svoboda. Kyrylo Budanov noted that Ukraine used a lot of these naval drones.
Since they cause real losses and the price of such a drone and the price of a warship are incomparable, it can be noted that this is a very effective method. At the same time, according to Budanov, during attacks on Russian ships, the Russian military neutralizes up to 70% of Ukrainian naval drones.
Ukrainian naval drone. Autumn 2022.
Ukraine. Frame from the u24.gov.ua video
"But, of course, they destroy 60%, maybe even 70%. This is the truth.
There is nothing to hide here, as they say. However, the remaining 30% is still a problem for them," Budanov added.
According to the Head of Intelligence, there are cases when a drone is destroyed near a Russian ship, and then the ship goes "for long-term repairs."