David Kirichenko
KYIV, UKRAINE - MAY: The chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR) Kyrylo Budanov (L) is seen during the presentation of "Magura" sea drones in Kyiv, Ukraine on an undisclosed date on May 2025. "Magura" sea drones used to attack and destroy Russian ships in the Black sea, as well as two helicopters and two SU-30 fighters, that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. These drones are one of the first of its kind in the world and Ukraine is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of development and production of various drones, including sea drones. (Photo by Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu via Getty Images)... MoreAnadolu via Getty Images
A new kind of Ukrainian sea drone may be accelerating the evolution of naval warfare.
Russian footage from last week’s attacks on the port cities of Tuapse and Novorossiysk appears to show a Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessel, essentially a kamikaze boat, carrying multiple fiber-optic first person view drones in hinged compartments along its hull. These are no ordinary FPVs. The fiber-optic connection allows the drones to fly without radio signals, making them immune to electronic jamming, one of the biggest threats in modern drone combat.
The innovation marks the first reported use of fiber-optic drones launched from the sea. Until now, Ukraine had deployed these unjammable drones mainly on land to strike Russian jammers and fortified positions. Mounting them on naval platforms extends their reach far beyond the coastline and turns each boat into a mobile drone carrier.
In December 2024, Ukraine had already hinted at this capability. The Ukrainian Navy released a video showing naval drone carriers launching strike FPV drones from internal bays fitted into Magura-class unmanned sea vehicles. The modified hulls appeared to use hatches that opened at sea, allowing the FPVs to take off while sheltered from saltwater and weather. Those early experiments foreshadowed what Russian footage now shows – sea drones doubling as motherships for precision FPV strikes.
“Given Ukraine’s manpower-limited navy, it has relied on cheap, unmanned systems built to be effective and disposable,” says Gregory Falco, an autonomous systems expert at Cornell University.
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