As of: January 29, 2024, 5:14 a.m
By: Karsten Hinzmann
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Russian warship on the Crimean peninsula.
© IMAGO/Konstantin Mihalchevskiy
Without a navy, Ukraine is involved in the naval war over Crimea - drones sneak into the Black Sea Fleet;
and soon also manned submarines.
Sevastopol – They are called “Fury”, “Orca” or “Kronos” and are supposed to revolutionize underwater warfare.
Ukraine is planning a campaign of autonomous submarines against Vladimir Putin's Black Sea fleet and wants to use it to drive Russia out of Crimea.
There is now also a stealth submarine made by Ukrainian engineers.
And the aircraft manufacturer Boeing has now delivered five unmanned submarines to the US Navy;
they could also be interesting for Ukraine;
However, they are increasingly relying on their own construction in order to emancipate themselves from their previous supporters.
For example, the Seababy drone caused damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Crimean Bridge last August.
“Drones of this type, operating on the sea surface, are a domestic innovation,” Vasyl Maliuk, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), told
CNN
.
Ukraine is relying on home-made underwater weapons in its war against Russia
Science fiction seems to be becoming more realistic every day in the Ukraine war: In addition to an army of drones, the defenders are now also building unmanned submarines to scare the Russians' Black Sea fleet.
Conventional warfare is simply unaffordable in the long run.
Now Ukraine is launching a new offensive in its own country at the end of January: a hackathon under the heading “Offensive of the Machines” - the Ministry of Defense wants to bring together creative minds to find the best technological solutions to improve unmanned systems on the front.
The Hackathon “Offensive of Machines” is a joint event of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Strategic Industries and the Brave1 defense technology cluster.
Also included is the “Fury” project – short for “First Ukrainian Robotic Navy”, as
NavalNews
magazine reports.
The naval war in the Black Sea is the first in history to be characterized by unmanned platforms.
Ukraine has been quick to innovate with unmanned boats (USVs) and so far appears to be one step ahead of the Russian Navy.
The probably first victim of Ukrainian creativity was the “Admiral Makarov”, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet – it was damaged by an unmanned surface drone, the “Magura 5”.
Expert: After the war, Ukraine will be the most important drone manufacturer in Europe
The online military magazine Defense Express
speaks of “hundreds of drones” that Ukraine is now said to have at its disposal,
citing statements from the manufacturer
.
Each one, however, would give Ukraine hope.
The
Magura 5
is 5.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide.
It is a Ukrainian home-made device, presented at the International Defense Industry Fair in Turkey in July 2023. It is actually called “Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus” and in its current version is the fifth generation.
“Ukraine has become a drone power in recent years and especially since the beginning of the war,” praised Ulrike Franke, from the
European Council on Foreign Relations,
to
ZDF
.
And she is pretty sure: “It is likely that Ukraine will emerge from this war as an important drone producing country.”
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The “Magura 5” as a do-it-yourself solution for your own navy is apparently a true jack-of-all-trades - and its ability to carry explosives across the Black Sea is apparently only a secondary aspect of its actual purpose
.
According to the Ukrainian manufacturer
“
SpetsTekhnoEksport”
Above all, it should be able to educate and monitor.
Its payload is stated as 320 kilograms;
It should then be able to catapult it at a speed of 40 to a maximum of 75 kilometers per hour over a range of up to 800 kilometers.
According to the manufacturer, operation is as easy as a remote-controlled toy boat.
At a safe distance.
From land.
It is the prototype of Ukrainian drone development for use on water.
All other models are superior in terms of specifications.
After this successful test run, Ukraine is now going one step further.
According to
Defense Express
, the Ukrainian “Fury” would not be a completely new ship, but rather an innovation of an existing platform that would be armed with mines, torpedoes or even submarine-launched missiles.
Although such a weapon would not be cheap to produce, the reusability made it worthwhile.
“Fury” will be presented to the public for the first time during the Hackaton at the end of February.
Crimea: The “frenzy” sows hope for the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet
“Fury” – in German “frenzy” also has a big task to fulfill: With their attacks against the Russian Navy, the Ukrainian defenders not only want to destroy material and weaken the operational capability of the Black Sea Fleet, but also to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin: Crimea was already occupied by Russia in 2014 and forms the bridgehead for Putin's fantasies of integrating Ukraine into the Russian Federation - and also for his plans to once again emerge internationally as a naval power.
Many experts see Crimea as the key to success in the entire Ukraine war.
If Russia's dictator lost Crimea, the entire war would likely be over quickly.
However, military journalist Hi Sutton suspects that Ukraine is in danger of losing its technological lead: “The success of the USV was at least partly due to the fact that Russia was slow to counter them.
But that is changing, Russia is deploying more defensive measures and getting better at countering them.
Defensive measures against small speedboats have been around since the 20th century and have been a focus of Western navies for several years due to threats from the Middle East.
Without further innovation on the Ukrainian side, Russia could regain its dominance in the Black Sea.
Especially since the war is expected to last for years.
“Orca”: US model for an autonomous Ukrainian defense industry
“SeaBaby” could give Ukraine further hope: alongside “Magura 5”, “SeaBaby” is one of the two types of sea drones operated by the Ukrainian secret service SSU.
As
Defense Express
reported, in contrast to the other two, “SeaBaby” is not just a kamikaze drone, but also a multi-purpose platform, like the one “Fury” is supposed to represent - the tasks simply become more complex.
The “Orca” boat, for example, from the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing, has now been delivered to the US Navy in five units with the task of meeting different mission requirements.
Its core vehicle offers “command and control, navigation, autonomy, situational awareness, core communications, power distribution, propulsion and maneuvering, and mission sensors” – the boat is ready to roll, so to speak.
The “AUVs” (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) differ from the simpler buoyant drones in that they can act more autonomously than their predecessors, are easier to navigate - for example through their ability to communicate with satellites, and that they carry a larger payload.
The “Orca” currently being delivered are the size of a sperm whale and weigh around 80 tons.
The boat “Kronos”, on the other hand, resembles a manta ray and is the result of Ukrainian ingenuity. The boat was presented for the first time in 2023 and is strongly reminiscent of the “Nautilus” from Jule Verne’s novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”.
The manufacturer offers a futuristic concept of a submarine designed to perform a variety of tasks - according to
DefenseExpress
, "the new concept of a submarine that can be a full-fledged combat unit."
Underwater, such a boat can carry up to 3.5 tons of payload or up to ten people - and up to a speed of 50 kilometers per hour submerged or 80 above water;
Both can be controlled or remotely controlled - and at least up to 250 kilometers away.
The development of its own defense industry is currently one of the Ukrainian government's priorities - especially with a view to the presidential election campaign in the USA: a victory by Donald Trump will cause Ukraine to fear that the supply chain from the USA will break off.
In addition, the war on the ground is developing into a tough struggle - the underwater world still offers Ukraine space for the dynamics and success of a counter-offensive;
Technology journalist Hi Sutton also sees it this way: “The underwater solutions could be the key to being two steps ahead of the Russians again.
Autonomous underwater vehicles can provide surprise, stealth and survivability.”