Ukraine is expanding its uncrewed surface vessel (USV) attacks to hit Russian targets on the Dnipro River and its tributaries. Kyiv’s USV campaign has previously hit enemy shipping, warships, and infrastructure in attacks made famous by the country’s State Security Service (SBU) and Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR).
Meanwhile, as Russia begins to build out its own USV effort, Ukraine also said it struck a storage site for those vessels on Tuesday night in a preemptive effort to keep them from being deployed.
The 40th Coastal Defense Brigade of the 30th Marine Corps recently released a video showing the Barracuda USV it developed carrying out a mission in the Dnipro region. The video purports to show the Barracuda making its way through an inlet before hitting a small camouflaged Russian boat and outpost. The video then cuts to aerial drone views showing an explosion and resulting destruction.
“The unmanned boat ‘Barracuda’ carried out another successful mission,” the Corps stated on Telegram.
The Barracuda USV is operated by a special unit of the same name, according to the 30th Marine Corps.
“The eponymous special unit, subordinated to the 40th Marine Brigade, independently designed and launched a water drone, which is already defending the coasts of Ukraine,” the Corps explained.
Unveiled earlier this year, the Barracuda was designed to carry out several missions, including one-way attack, strikes with grenades and first-person view (FPV) drones and resupply, according to the Corps.
This modular design is similar to the Sea Baby USVs produced by the SBU and the Magura line of USVs operated by GUR that have frequently staged attacks in the Black Sea. In addition to serving as one-way attack weapons, the USVs previously deployed by Ukraine have brought down jets and helicopters and launched attacks using aerial drones. This onslaught has already kept Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF) at bay, forcing it to retreat from Crimea to Novorossiysk. Ukrainian USVs have also damaged enemy military facilities in occupied Crimea and the Kerch Bridge.
However, unlike Ukraine’s long-range USVs, the Barracuda is not equipped with satellite communications.
“Its range is therefore limited, making it suitable primarily for short-distance missions among the islands of the Dnipro River, which corresponds with the operating area of the 40th Coastal Defense Brigade,” the Ukrainian United24 media outlet noted.
The unit claims that the Barracuda is guided in part by artificial intelligence, but does not provide any details.
Overall, the Barracuda appears to be a bit cheaper and less complex design that is better optimized for lower priority targets in riverine and shallow littoral areas. The lack of a satellite communications system is interesting as control of the boat would have to be provided locally, within line of sight of the boat or at least within line of sight of a relay, such as a drone, flying overhead. The boat could also follow waypoint navigation autonomously, but making pinpoint attacks in complex waterways would be a challenge for such a concept of operations.
The Barracuda attacks are part of a fight taking place on the Dnipro, its inlets and islands since the Ukrainian’s recaptured Kherson City in November 2023. With neither side being able to launch a major cross-river attack due to the difficulty of crossing a body of water while under fire from drones and artillery, the two sides have been jockeying for position in this area on a much smaller scale.
The success of Ukraine’s USVs has not been lost on Russia. Earlier this year, Moscow carried out a drone boat attack on a Ukrainian Navy reconnaissance ship in the mouth of the Danube River. That incident marked Russia’s first confirmed use of these weapons. In addition to building its own drone boats, Russia also created dedicated units to operate them. You can read more about Russia’s USV development in our story here.
The following video shows the August Russian USV attack on the Ukrainian ship.
Though there have been no confirmed Russian USV attacks since August, Ukraine remains concerned about the potential for future strikes.
“As part of a systematic reduction of the Russian aggressor’s military-economic potential, on the night of December 24, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out successful strikes on several enemy targets,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff claimed on Wednesday. “The storage and maintenance site for unmanned boats in the area of Mirny in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian Crimea was hit.”
The General Staff did not provide any visual evidence of the results of the attack and said that the extent of the damage is still being determined.
While Ukraine’s Barracuda USVs have not yet been carrying out attacks on high-value targets, the drone boats give Kyiv’s beleaguered forces another weapon they can use to help defend its internal waterways.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com