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MOSCOW, April 14, Zakhar Andreev. An unusual maritime attack drone was discovered off the coast of Romania. The design elements are American and Soviet. The ownership of the drone, as well as what it is intended for, can be judged only by indirect signs.
Guest from Alabama
On the third of April, the Romanian search and rescue vessel Artemis spotted an overturned craft 20 miles east of Tuzla. Military experts have determined that this is a naval attack drone.
The basis is a rigid inflatable boat AM-800 with an aluminum hull. Manufactured by Silver Ships in Alabama. Typically these are supplied for fire and rescue work. There are still traces of the original bright orange trim, over which gray paint was applied.
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Length with outboard motors — 9.5 meters. This is almost twice as much as the kamikaze drones Magura and Sea Baby, which were used by Ukraine against the ships of the Black Sea Fleet and the Crimean Bridge. Such dimensions make the vessel visible from afar, and therefore vulnerable. But this disadvantage can be compensated by the power of its weapons, note Naval News.
Whose drone
A warhead from the Soviet P-20 Termit anti-ship missile (according to NATO classification “Styx”) was installed on a “roughly made” wooden frame. Explosives — about 500 kilograms.
For comparison: the American Harpoon anti-ship missile system, which is in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, has 225, while the Ukrainian-made Neptune anti-ship missile has only 150.
With In this case, Magura takes on board 320 kilograms of cargo, and Sea Baby, which attacked the bridge, as much as 800.
Romania does not specify who owned the drone, but most experts believe it was Ukrainian. Naval News writes that both sides of the conflict have “Termites”. However, it is known that the Alabama boat manufacturer Silver Ships supplied products to Kyiv — although it was not specified which products. In addition, the ship is controlled using the Starlink satellite communications system, like other Ukrainian attack drones.
Be that as it may, the mysterious weapon will take its secrets to a grave at sea. On April 5, the Romanian military remotely destroyed a boat at the Capu Midia training ground, 14 kilometers from Constanta.
Not just a ram
The strange discovery lifted the veil of secrecy over the military developments of Kyiv. Naval drones have proven to be one of the most effective innovations in military conflict. It is unclear whether the uncrewed boat found in Romania is one of the latest examples or, on the contrary, it is one of the early and unsuccessful ones. Obviously, the concept is the same as that of “Magura”: a fire-ship controlled by “Starlink”, which should ram ships or other objects.
Such systems have been talked about more than once in Ukraine. Thus, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense Kirill Budanov* statedabout plans to install strike weapons, including air defense, on the Magura V5 drone.
Drone War
Note that the Corps is betting on drones does US Marine Corps. A year earlier, the public was shown a long-range unmanned surface vessel (LRUSV). The main type of weapons is the Hero-120 loitering ammunition (like the Russian Lancet). With its help, they plan to inflict damage on warships of a potential enemy — for example, disable communication systems. But it is unlikely that large ships will be sunk.
Russia is also developing attack naval unmanned systems, but much more relevant. Another task: learn to deal with them. Experts propose to equip ships with remotely controlled combat modules, which are already installed on land vehicles today.
In addition, the Russian fleet trains in identifying and destroying unmanned boats “ aerial kamikaze drones with a first-person view (FPV) and a fragmentation warhead.
Analysts agree on one thing: in the future, the role of drones in military conflict will only increase, and in all environments — on land, in water and in the air .
* Listed as terrorists and extremists.