- A new video shows the testing of Ukraine's new $433,000 underwater drone.
- The 20-foot-long drone, called Marichka, is meant to attack Russian warships from below the surface.
A new video shows Ukraine's $433,000 underwater drone that could make life hell for Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
The black unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), named Marichka, has a range of about 600 miles and can perform attack, transport, or reconnaissance missions, according to the volunteer group Ammo Ukraine that developed the vessel.
It is 6 meters (20 feet) in length and has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). That's long enough for one-way trips from areas under Ukrainian control to almost any location in the Black Sea.
The payload capacity and other technical details of the drone are yet to be known, although Ukrainian news outlet Censor.NET reported it has a warhead weight of about 200 kilograms.
The estimated cost of the UUV is about $433,000, according to Ammo Ukraine.
The video, released on Tuesday, appears to show a volunteer sitting on a Marichka as it is being lowered into the sea to be tested.
Підтримай виробництво підводного дрона МАРІЧКА
— AMMO.UKRAINE (@AmmoUkrain) September 26, 2023
Українського виробництва
Посилання для донатів: https://t.co/ia6QGNMw01 pic.twitter.com/bepWiphVcn
Ammo Ukraine has been promoting and seeking investment for the drone since around August 2023. It is unclear when exactly it could be put into action.
The drone could give Ukraine a new dimension to its attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, based in the occupied Crimean Peninsula.
Attacks have been mainly carried out by surface naval drones so far, as well as by cruise missiles.
In the last few weeks, Ukraine's military has beefed up its attacks against The Black Sea Fleet, causing more destruction than ever, the UK's Ministry of Defense said in a daily intelligence update on Tuesday.
Last week, Ukraine also conducted a missile strike on the fleet's land-based headquarters in the city of Sevastopol.
Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said last month that naval attack drones have served to "paralyze" Russia at sea.