The commander of sea-drone operations for Ukraine’s military intelligence agency says more complex strikes against Russian forces are expected next year, after Kyiv’s uncrewed fleet succeeded in curbing the movements of Russia’s once-dominant Black Sea navy.
Ukraine’s military intelligence commander overseeing sea-drone operations says that more sophisticated attacks on Russian forces are likely next year, after Kyiv’s uncrewed vessels managed to restrict the once-dominant Black Sea fleet’s movements.
Speaking to The Associated Press, the leader of the maritime drone division known as Group 13 said Ukrainian strikes have forced Russia to change its tactics, reducing the opportunities for the dramatic Black Sea attacks carried out earlier in the conflict.
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“Today, we’ve likely reached a plateau,” said the officer, who goes by the call sign “13th” in line with Ukrainian military rules.
“We continue to constrain the enemy’s movements, but those major, high-visibility strikes we saw before haven’t occurred for some time. That’s because the enemy has adapted.”
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Ukrainian officials said last month that sea-attack drones were involved in hits on ships belonging to Russia’s sanctions-dodging “shadow fleet” of oil tankers. The commander declined to discuss those operations.
The officer said Russian naval vessels “barely operate,” often venturing only up to 25 miles (40 kilometers) from port to fire missiles before retreating. “They constantly hide. And in a way, that’s also a result of our unit — because you can imagine the cost of maintaining a fleet that cannot operate at sea.”
The officer spoke in uniform, his face covered and eyes obscured by tinted glasses. For security reasons, the intelligence agency asked that the location and other details of the interview not be disclosed.
Drone technology has become vital to Ukraine’s military, offering inexpensive tools for reconnaissance and strikes in countering Russia’s invasion. Its two sea-drone programs are run separately by its military and domestic intelligence services.
Group 13 operates the Magura family of sea drones, which Ukraine credits with multiple strikes on Russian ships.
The unit currently deploys two variants — the V5, a smaller ramming drone, and the larger V7, a weapons platform. Both are controlled remotely using suitcase-sized consoles equipped with joysticks, screens and safety switches.
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At a recent demonstration, operators showed a V7 fitted with modified U.S.-made Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. In May, the intelligence agency said a Magura drone shot down a Russian fighter jet — a development the commander called a “breakthrough” in maritime warfare.
He said the next stage of Ukraine’s drone evolution will rely on deeper integration of artificial intelligence, using a growing archive of operational video and sensor data to improve targeting and reduce operator workload.
“Right now, target search is a combined process — part operator, part AI,” he said. “In the future, you’ll launch the drone and it will independently search for a target, distinguish civilian vessels from military ones, and make more of the decisions.”
Ukraine’s military, he added, had a “huge amount” of operational data available to further train AI models.
Although he