Scafi without pilot increasingly present also in the Ukrainian rivers: patrol, film, but above all they transport armed drones in silence in the vicinity of their goal.
A small ship, which might seem like a radio -controlled model for playful use, dates back the Dnipro river silent. It is electric and mimetics, often the exact location between the vegetation is lost, but to observe well it transports an equally small drone armed with explosive charge and ready to take off. In the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Dnipro river, which crosses the territory of Kiev for almost a thousand kilometers, is a separation and at the same time fundamental communication for war needs, also constituting a natural defensive barrier. It is no coincidence that every infrastructure that crosses it has been considered as the objective, while the potential fords – where the water is very low and the strength of the current is attenuated – have obviously been occupied and defended in order to be exploited in the moments when the level of the water is reduced. It happens that in terms of armament the river capabilities involve a series of tactical challenges. Often these include natural obstacles such as sand stalls, vegetation, branches or high groves, which can make navigation more difficult and subject to interference. The water levels also change frequently, making navigation unpredictable. For this reason, the Ukrainian fleet of remotely piloted ships is expanding: new nautical drones of a new type are increasingly sighted, smaller than those that we are now used to observing in the Black Sea, designed with characteristics such as to make them suitable for the river scenarios to contrast the Russian presence in the key water routes of the country. Among these is the one produced by Ukraine Novitechnet and presented two weeks ago: it is a new usv (Unmanned Surface Vehicle), along one meter, called Ursula, at least according to what is reported by United24 Media, a government information website focused on Ukraine.
Here the video:
The purpose of the Novitechnet would be to carry out river reconnaissance, to be able to play the role of explosive floating mine and if necessary also by the launching carrier of flying drones From two kilograms with first -person view (FPV) from the water. This can be inferred from a video published by the manufacturer in which the pilot -free boat is seen maneuvering between the vegetation while transporting what seems to be a small drone ready for take -off. We know, however, that “Ursula” is not the first usv of this type that Ukrainian companies are experimenting, during the winter, Brave1, a government center for defense technology in charge of preparing new field skills, reported that Ukrainian troops were testing the black Widow 2. The system, which also measures about one meter in length, has a useful load of three kilograms kilometers.
The doctrine of use is obviously always in the making, however Ukrainian forces would today be able to use hulls like this to transport drones to strategic points for an attack purposes And from here to take them off to hit the Russian positions present along the DNIPRO river or use them to hit the lens enemy boats used to bring supplies. From a technical point of view, these are hulls with an optimized shape for the low seabed, on which minimal superstructures are mounted to help reduce the profile of the shape and therefore the identification; They are therefore very different from the models of marine naval drones such as the now famous Magura, which measure up to six meters and which can quickly navigate even in the presence of waves more than a few tens of centimeters. As always to guarantee the effectiveness is the control electronics combined with the robustness of the radio and control radio broadcasts, which must be difficult to contrast and disturbable by the enemy. And drones like Ursula we will see them more and more often acting in Europe also as a deterrent, carrying out sentinel tasks such as that of door-to-effect.
