As Ukraine’s explosive drone boats ran down and sank or damaged more Russian warships on the Black Sea starting last fall, the Russian Black Sea Fleet fought back—from the air.
Russian fighter-bombers, flying boats and helicopters patrolled the approaches to the Black Sea Fleet’s anchorages, looking for the telltale wakes of approaching drone boats—and opening fire with rockets and guns.
But in war, as in physics, every action has a reaction. So now Ukrainian drone boats are packing surface-to-air missiles—and possibly already firing back at the Russian aircraft.
Videos from the Black Sea, apparently on Sunday or Monday, depict a Kamov Ka-29 helicopter circling a Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicle—either a 19-foot Sea Baby or a slightly smaller Magura—before peppering it with gunfire.
The helicopter-on-drone engagement might be related to a Ukrainian drone boat raid on the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea this weekend. The boats reportedly struck and sank a Russian patrol craft.
It wasn’t the first time a Russian aircraft had destroyed a Ukrainian USV. But that particular USV was notable for its top-mounted twin missile rails—and the 10-foot R-73 infrared-guided dogfighting missile fitted to one rail. It seems some Ukrainian USVs are traveling with their own air-defense missiles.
The Russian Fighterbomber Telegram channel expressed surprise. “The Ukrainian were able to somehow connect the rocket with the USV’s telecontrol systems.”
An R-73’s seeker is sensitive to heat sources such as an aircraft engine; it doesn’t need telemetry from the launching vehicle for guidance. But Fighterbomber isn’t wrong to wonder exactly how the USV’s crew would remotely aim and launch an R-73.
Fighterbomber speculated that Ukrainian drone boats haven’t yet fired their air-defense missiles in anger. But it’s worth noting that the USV the Kamov crew gunned down Sunday or Monday had two missile rails, but only one rail had a missile on it.
By fitting R-73s to USVs, Ukrainian forces add yet another role to their increasingly versatile drone boats. Most of Ukraine’s USVs are one-way attack craft: packed with explosives, they ram into Russian warships. There’s also a version of the Sea Baby that can fire unguided rockets for stand-off attacks. It’s possible the largest Ukrainian USV type also carries a radio jammer.
There’s an outside chance the air-defense USVs have already scored their first aerial kill. At least one, and possibly two, Russian helicopters got into trouble over the Black Sea on April 9 and 10. Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk claimed a Kamov Ka-27 crashed on April 9. Multiple sources confirmed a second helicopter, a Mil Mi-24, crashed on April 10.
The Kamov crash is unconfirmed. But what’s interesting is Pletenchuk’s claim that the rotorcraft had “been looking for something” and “found it.” If the Russians did lose a Ka-27 on April 9 and that helicopter was out searching for USVs, did it find a USV armed with surface-to-air missiles?
Sources:
1. TASS: https://t.me/tass_agency/247057
2. Samuel Bendett: https://twitter.com/sambendett/status/1787455670775681073
3. Fighterbomber: https://t.me/fighter_bomber/16609
4. Dmytro Pletenchuk: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?id=100002112339132&story_fbid=7367930783287260
