Ukrainian Navy

Main article: Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU)

History

2025

The Russian Armed Forces sank the Ukrainian reconnaissance ship Simferopol by the BACK

On the night of August 27-28, 2025, the Russian Armed Forces sank the Ukrainian reconnaissance ship Simferopol, created on the basis of a trawler and launched in 2019. Destroyed it by the BACK.

Judging by the personnel published by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the BACK covered about 25 kilometers only along the Danube channel, successfully hitting the ship of the Ukrainian Navy.

Later, the loss was indirectly recognized by Ukrainian officials, claiming the death of one crew member and the search for part of the rest.

Officially, this is the first effective Russian attack by a bookless boat of Ukrainian ships.

The defeat of a relatively new ship is a serious loss for the Ukrainian Navy.

Reconnaissance ships, due to their specifics, are intended for very narrow tasks, and Simferopol served as an operational headquarters.

Active development of keyless boats with the support of Britain

Assistance from Western countries played a key role in the development of equipotential boat technologies in Ukraine. The very first copies were collected together with British engineers on the basis of the available samples of the British Armed Forces.

These were test raw assemblies, which were periodically found on the shores of Crimea either due to a failure in the navigation system, or due to the loss of a control channel.

Later, a full-fledged process of assembling BACKs was implemented in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

First, parts and necessary elements are delivered to Kyiv - this is the key place where the cases are assembled, internal debugging, and satellite systems are installed. This is done by engineers selected by the GUR and foreign specialists.

After the BACKs were assembled, they are taken to the Kyiv reservoir. There, GUR operators test the undercarriage and satellite systems. The marks of the backs periodically flicker into the reservoir, and sometimes immediately in groups.

Then ready-made drones are taken south to the Black Sea in Odessa. There is a retrofitting of drones with a warhead, the installation of various fire systems, such as anti-aircraft guided missiles, MLRS, machine guns. They do this at several enterprises, one of which is Hydroport.

Then the BAEKs are again taken for testing to the Dniester estuary or the Danube estuary, where sea trials are again carried out. The weapons installed on the BACK are tested at the old and familiar Alibey training ground, where all the main tests of the missile weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are carried out.

In this case, this scheme can be adjusted. Sometimes the assembly is carried out in the Odessa region - the entire technological process is established and diversified, where each element is responsible for its task. But approximately in this form, the creation and testing of drones is carried out.

By January 2025, during the conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian side showed many variants of drones, but not all of them are used in the Black Sea. For example, "Toloku" or "Stalker" was shown only in photographs.

The very first BACK presented by the Armed Forces of Ukraine was Glider (in Ukraine it is called Mikola). This is a drone assembled on the basis of British drones. It was first seen in Sevastopol in October 2022.

They were also used to attack the frigate Admiral Makarov. Their autonomy is up to 60 hours, the combat radius is about 800 km, the speed is up to 80 km/h, and the warhead reaches 200 kg.

The second recorded drone was Mamai, which was also shown in the fall of 2022. It is larger than the Glider, has an increased combat radius, but at the same time faster - the speed can reach 110 km/h.

These BECs were used to attack the Olenegorsk Miner BDK and the SIG tanker off Novorossiysk in August 2023. It is the high autonomy that makes it a convenient option for long-range attacks.

Next, Magura appeared, which eventually became the main drone used by the GUR. The first combat use of these BECs was recorded against the Ivan Khurs SRZK in May 2023, and then at the Azov Sea in June.

The Magura is effective due to its high speed and increased warhead. And the range, judging by the use to the Kerch bridge and returning back to Odessa, exceeds 800 km. And it is from them that GURs use SAMs (in the West they are called Magura FrankenSAM, that is, Magura air defense systems with R-73 missiles).

After that, jet-ski drones were recorded. These drones were marked only a couple of times when they tried to break through booms in Sevastopol, but were stopped by rifle groups on the way.

They were not recorded anymore in battle, so, most likely, the program was curtailed. However, Ukrainian sources periodically spoke about a new version equipped with Starlink satellite antennas, but so far unproven.

And another BACK is Sea Baby. This is a drone that has also become the main used means of destruction and which was used in the attack on the Crimean bridge in July 2023.

Its varieties are much larger than others, wrote "Fisherman." On the basis of Sea Baby, a version with MLRS was created, which regularly shelling the Kinburn Peninsula. There is a version with a RPV-16 jet flamethrower, there is a version with an electronic warfare antenna, as well as a tanker.

Its most important nuance is in the warhead, which reaches 860 kg (this conclusion was made after studying one of them). And it is Sea Baby that is used as the carrier of FPV drones. One was found intact in western Crimea and contained 12 UAVs in four containers.

Ukraine is actively introducing new technologies, developing more and more variations of these drones. The most successful go to the stream, which is why the number is growing every day.

Moreover, by January 2025, several more interesting test variants of the Katran family appeared, which will be equipped with machine guns, anti-aircraft missiles, FPV drones, and so on.

2024: Delivery of "Uisco" speedboats from Finland

In March 2024, Romania reported that the Finns had handed over Uisco-type high-speed boats to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

These watercraft withdraw from the Finnish troops, therefore it was decided to transfer them to Ukraine. They can reach speeds of up to 65 km/h, equipped with a machine gun and grenade launcher.

2023

Delivery of four patrol boats from France

In November 2023, in the French port of Saint-Nazaire, four FPB 98 patrol boats were loaded aboard the Fusion transport vessel for delivery to Ukraine.

Under the contract of 2019, the French must supply 20 such boats. Previous deliveries were carried out according to one scheme to the Romanian port of Constanta, and then by land to the port of Izmail, where FPB 98 is still located.

Since the beginning of the conflict, 52 naval drones have been used to attack Russian ships and territories

Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine by September 26, 2023, Ukrainian units have used 52 naval drones to attack Russian ships and territories.

Of these, 44 units were successfully destroyed, but eight were able to cause damage. This was the case with the patrol ships Vasily Bykov and Sergei Kotov, the large landing ship Olenegorsk Miner, the oil depot and the support of the Crimean bridge.

Moreover, the lion's share of attacks fell on the southwestern part of the Black Sea water area, where keyless boats repeatedly tried to hit the ships of the Black Sea Fleet to squeeze them out of the zone and organize a new grain corridor.

During the special operation, the Ukrainian authorities and volunteers presented a lot of different options for naval drones, announcing the start of mass production and imminent use against Russia.

However, in fact, as with dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles, the fate of a significant part of the declared sea drones is still unclear. It was a question to introduce them, but whether they are in production, and not as a prototype.

By September 2023, the Armed Forces of Ukraine used massively three types of keyless boats: Magura V5, Sea Baby and a jet scooter (something similar to the Jet Ski jet ski). It was they who were observed during the attacks on Sevastopol, the Crimean bridge and the ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

In September 2023, Ukrainian media published personnel of the launch of the Marichka underwater drone, capable of carrying a charge of up to 1000 kg. As the "Russian Engineer" noted, since it was shown against the background of the port of Odessa, it will soon be used to attack.

The danger of this particular drone is that it is underwater, and not semi-submersible, which is associated with the need to overcome the barriers at the Crimean bridge to strike the supports.

If in 2022 and early 2023 attacks were rare, and more like drone tests in combat conditions, then by the beginning of autumn attacks became more meaningful and consistent.

Their massive use allowed Ukrainian troops to diversify the tactics of fighting for dominance at sea. Combined attacks either by UAVs, or BeKami, or missiles allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to hold the initiative, constantly threatening the Russian fleet.

Combined attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from September 20 to 23, 2023

Judging by the variation in the means of defeat, the Ukrainian authorities are pursuing the goal of squeezing Russia out of the Black Sea to their home ports. This will fully control the situation in the water area, as well as provide the necessary advantage for attacks on the Crimea and the bridge. And in the future, this can create a threat not only for the landing operation, but also for Russia's shipping traffic by sea, as well as the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, Rybar wrote.

Assembly of keyless boats transferred to civilian ships that imperceptibly move at sea

In order to secure the production base of Ukraine for the assembly of unsecured boats, in the summer of 2023 the workshops were transferred to container ships and dry cargo ships, inside which sites were equipped for this.

The idea itself is original and belongs to the British: the process takes place in a room closed from unnecessary eyes on a spacious vessel, which no one, except for a narrow circle of people, knows about. It is possible to hide from strikes in the sea under the guise of a merchant ship plowing the water area with the rest.

It is extremely difficult to track such a floating base, and if you also turn off the transponder and remove external identification marks, then you get such a "ghost ship" designed to assemble drones and launch them on the Russian fleet and bases.

Use of ECUs for offshore mine installation

In June 2024, The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Ukrainian military used driverless boats to lay mines near the Crimean ports and basing points of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

According to the WSJ, in this way the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Pavel Derzhavin patrol ship, the small Samum hovercraft and several other boats and auxiliary ships.

Six cases were recorded with the participation of the Sea Baby drone, which set more than ten mines 2-5 km from the entrance to Sevastopol Bay in September-October 2023.

And then the target of the attack was both "Pavel Derzhavin" and "Samum," but to no avail, since the mines exploded either too early or too late.

Moreover, Italian Manta mines were used for attacks, which were transferred by the Italians in the amount of about fifty in one of the packages of military assistance.

Another Mamai-type BACK was seen once while trying to put mines on October 6, 2023 near Sevastopol, but to no avail.

Turkey laid the second corvette for the Ukrainian Navy

In August 2023, a second MILGEM-type corvette was laid in Turkey for the Ukrainian Navy under an October 2020 contract. The first ship was launched back in 2022 and is now being completed at a shipyard in Istanbul.

Training of Ukrainian divers by British Navy specialists

In July 2023, it became known that divers and mine specialists of the British naval forces began training Ukrainian servicemen to neutralize Russian explosive devices. The combat training process is organized in Scotland and allegedly aimed at "ensuring the safety of Ukrainian citizens and commercial shipping after the end of the conflict."

The event is hosted by sailors from Delta Diving Unit 1 in conjunction with instructors from other countries, NATO including,,, and USA France. Belgium Georgia The training modules cover a wide range of operations, from clearing deep-sea shipping lanes to securing shallow waters and beaches for amphibious raids. Special attention is paid to neutralizing threats in ports, berths and other infrastructure facilities.

To train Ukrainian servicemen, unmanned underwater vehicles equipped with special sensors are used, which allow operators to more accurately identify the threat. After the discovery of a dangerous object, divers begin to neutralize it.

These measures are not the first attempt to train Ukrainian divers. In August 2022, representatives of the British Navy and servicemen of the 6th US Fleet also trained Ukrainians in the operation of underwater unmanned aerial vehicles. After completing the training course, the British promised to transfer six units of these military equipment. Then the former commander of the British Navy, Alan West, assured that this would significantly change the situation in the Odessa region, allow the removal of food from Ukraine and prevent world famine. It's been almost a full year since, but no change has happened.