Ukraine’s uncrewed boats have sunk around a third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, forcing the remaining vessels to flee occupied Crimea.

This is reported by The New York Times in an article examining the Defence Forces of Ukraine’s maritime unmanned systems.

According to Emma Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the National Security Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Ukraine’s achievements in this field have attracted the attention of a number of countries, providing an example for their own navies.

Ukrainian engineers’ and military personnel’s experience is now being studied around the world. As Denis Kanin, director of the Maritime Drone Association, notes, purchasing unmanned systems at a cost equivalent to maintaining a single warship could “provide security for a small country.”

“For all these years, ever since maritime drones began sinking the Russian fleet, different countries have approached us seeking to purchase these vessels for themselves or establish their own production,” said Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

It all began with the Magura maritime drone, the first versions of which appeared in 2023 and have been continuously improved ever since.

“We would lose a drone, then go after it, tow it back, repair it. And this happened again and again,” recalls the commander of a maritime unmanned systems unit of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, call sign “Thirteenth.”

He recalls that at the time, the first attacks on Russian naval ports in Tuapse and Novorossiysk were being prepared. These were the ports to which the remnants of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had fled. To protect them, Russian forces installed electronic warfare equipment on captured offshore oil platforms to detect approaching Ukrainian uncrewed boats.

To neutralize the enemy’s electronic warfare systems and strike coastal targets, Ukraine decided to use attack UAVs launched directly from maritime drones.

Once the enemy radars had been destroyed, the remaining Ukrainian uncrewed boats were able to attack the Russian ports without interference.

In addition, in April 2026, operators from the 412th Nemesis Unmanned Systems Brigade became the first to shoot down two Russian Shaheds by launching UAV interceptors from their maritime drones. In September, footage emerged showing the first combat engagement between a Ukrainian uncrewed boat and one of its Russian counterparts.

The next step, according to specialists from Ukraine’s military intelligence, is to equip maritime platforms with long-range heavy weapons.

However, Lieutenant Colonel Yurii Kochevenko, commander of the maritime battalion of the Nemesis Brigade, notes that the key to success is not the drones themselves, but the teams developing these technologies and constantly adapting them to new battlefield realities.