Ukraine starts using marine “drone carriers” that can strike Russian rear

Ukraine has started using marine “drone carriers” that can strike military targets in the Russian rear. On January 6, new footage confirmed that the Ukrainian military used a marine “drone carrier” to destroy a Russian Pantsir-S1 system on the coastline of the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region, 85 km from the frontline.

On this day alone, the Ukrainian forces destroyed six Russian anti-aircraft systems in southern Ukraine, including two Pantsir-S1s, a BUK system, two S-300 air defense systems, and an OSA anti-aircraft missile system.

The strike on the Pantsir missile system in Skadovsk, located on the southern coast of Kherson region, deep behind Russian lines, was carried out using an FPV drone. It would not be possible to reach this target with FPV drone from Ukraine-controlled territory.

The distance from the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region is about 85 kilometers away. This indicates that the drone was launched from a marine “drone carrier”.

Military experts point out that it is a historic development as the role of kamikaze boats and air defense boats has now expanded to include a new type of the marine “drone carriers”. This unmanned boat uses standard FPV drones, enabling strikes on distant Russian targets from the sea.

Last December, the Ukrainian Navy received unmanned naval “drone carriers” equipped with strike FPV drones. This was announced in a video of their use published on December 7, 2024, on the official Facebook page of the Ukrainian Navy.

The first demonstration of this public modification of Ukrainian naval drones occurred during an attack on Russian-held gas platforms in the Black Sea.

In addition to the traditional kamikaze drones, the Ukrainian Navy also used FPV drones based on naval drones to destroy the platforms.

With the advent of FPV naval drones, not only Russian ships and maritime infrastructure are now under threat, but also coastal facilities such as radars, air defense systems, coastal airfields in Crimea—Belbek, Kacha, and Saki—and other important targets.