The Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol on the night of March 22 may have been carried out with a new type of maritime drones smaller than those used in 2022. The attack failed, but the very fact of what happened account. Naval analyst HI Sutton, who is part of the OSINT (open source intelligence) community, informed the public about this on his blog.
The expert said that several images showing a new naval drone appeared on the social networks of Ukrainians and quasi-military audiences. This is an unmanned surface vehicle (USV), allegedly developed on the territory of Ukraine. In the latter case, he strongly doubts, it is more likely that the Ukrainians bought these drones somewhere or that they were provided by a country in the form of military support.
It is perhaps no coincidence that today (March 22, 2023) Sevastopol was attacked by a naval drone. However, it has not been confirmed if this new design was directly related to this incident.
emphasizes the observer.
He noted that, despite the availability of photographs, only a small number of details could be established. But he will continue to study the subject.
It (USV – Ed.) looks a bit smaller and overall smoother than the previous type. There is no sign of cameras, detection masts or communications. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, as they may just be efforts to protect key functionality and therefore capabilities.
- says the specialist.
The analyst noticed in one of the videos from the scene how the USV was on fire, stuck in the harbor booms. However, he was unable to determine the type of drone.
He also recalled that in the morning, the Governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, wrote on his Telegram channel that the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy repelled the USV attack, which was coordinated with the help of drones in the air. Three enemy USVs attempting to enter the bay were destroyed by small arms fire. At the same time, the air defense worked on the drone in the sky. As a result of the explosions of the USV, glass flew into adjacent buildings, people and warships were not injured.
Even if no ships are sunk, attacks count a lot
concludes the analyst.
Photos used: twitter.com/CovertShore
