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Handout footage shows smoke rising from what Ukrainian military intelligence said is the Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Sergey Kotov that was damaged by Ukrainian sea drones, at sea, at a location given as off the coast of Crimea, in this still image obtained from a video released on March 5, 2024.
The Ukrainian military said Tuesday it had sunk yet another Russian warship in the Black Sea, this time the patrol ship Sergey Kotov. Kyiv has already put nearly a third of Moscow’s Black Sea fleet on the ocean floor, and they’ve done it by relying heavily on drones. Not just the airborne ones you’ve heard plenty about but also unmanned waterborne drones. These deadly and relatively inexpensive weapons have helped Ukraine to even the seascape against a much larger enemy.
Consider that the cutting-edge Sergey Kotov was worth roughly $65 million. The Jet Ski-powered MAGURA V5 kamikaze drone that destroyed it cost about $250,000. You do the math. In less than a year, these drones had knocked off a missile corvette and two landing ships.
The historical irony. During the Crimean War of 1854-1856, Russia was the power using a new technology called the “torpedo” to harry the British fleet.
The future challenge. Navies around the world have some questions to answer. A cutting-edge US aircraft carrier costs $13 billion, and then you gotta buy the planes. If an enemy can sink it for the price of a modest condo in Phoenix … would you ever deploy it?