How Ukraine’s sea drones earned Western salivation

Ukrainian defense company UFORCE has signed an agreement with U.S. shipbuilder RECONCRAFT to manufacture the combat-proven Magura naval drones on American soil. Production is planned at facilities in Oregon and South Carolina. The project aims to build hundreds, potentially thousands, of units annually.For much of this war, the flow of military assistance ran from Washington to Kyiv. Today, the Pentagon is purchasing 2,000 attack UAVs from a Ukrainian producer, and American shipyards are preparing to build vessels designed in Kyiv. The United Kingdom is pursuing a similar path. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed another large-scale drone deal with London. Kyiv wants access to the U.K.’s Storm Shadow cruise missiles and London wants Ukrainian drone expertise.It’s all about what Ukraine has achieved on the Black Sea. The Magura drones have gained international recognition after repeated strikes pushed much of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet away from the Crimean Peninsula. The program has since expanded well beyond strike missions to include aerial drone launches, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine sonar towing, while the Magura V7 variant can engage helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. UFORCE says that Magura vessels have demonstrated that they can sink a target ship during exercises between the U.S. and the Philippines.Earlier this month, an operation involving Ukrainian drone forces sent naval and aerial attack drones against tankers, cargo ships, ferries, and other Russian vessels around Crimea. By July 14, Ukrainian drones had attacked 116 vessels in the area alone. A new phase, further out into the Black Sea, struck 20 more vessels, among them 17 oil tankers and two gas tankers. The campaign’s purpose is to sever trade routes critical to the Kremlin’s war economy and complicate fuel and other deliveries to Crimea. Strikes on road and rail links connecting Crimea to Russia have produced fuel shortages and a state of emergency on the peninsula, with power and gas facilities also being hit hard.RAND PAUL HAS FAUCI LAWYER REMOVED FROM COVID-19 HEARING OVER INTERRUPTIONSOver the course of the war, more than 20 Russian warships and one submarine have been seriously damaged or outright sunk, that tally includes the fleet’s flagship, the missile cruiser Moskva, destroyed by Neptune missiles in April 2022, a missile corvette sunk by naval drones off western Crimea, and the $65 million patrol ship Sergey Kotov, destroyed near the Kerch Strait by Magura V5 drones.Russia’s command over the Black Sea has effectively vanished. A navy that once ruled these waters now parks at distant ports, its warships pushed eastward beyond by the constant threat of drone strikes. Kyiv’s sea drone fleet has succeeded in curbing the movements of Russia’s once-dominant Black Sea navy. Ukraine expects more complex strikes next year. It’s no surprise, then, that the West wants in on the technology that has made these stunning successes possible.