Sea drones sink Russian corvette “Ivanovets”: Ukraine shows swarm attack off Crimea

A video released by the Ukrainian military on 1 February shows an apparently successful attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet corvette “Ivanovets”. It was carried out by several uncrewed naval drones, i.e. sea drones of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) type.

The ship was hit in the so-called Lake Donuzlav, an elongated saltwater inlet on the western side of Crimea. It belongs to the “Project 1241.1” class, known in Russia as “Lightning”; NATO designates the type “Tarantul II”.

Armament of the “Project 1241.1” class

The class's main armament is two twin launchers for P-15 Termit anti-ship missiles (NATO: SS-N-2 Styx). The Styx became known on 21 October 1967, when a group of Egyptian missile boats sank the Israeli destroyer “Eilat” with three P-15s. It was the first time in the history of naval warfare that a warship had been sunk by a ship-launched anti-ship missile.

In addition, there is a fully automatic 76-millimetre AK-176M gun and, for close-in defence, two likewise fully automatic 30-millimetre AK-630M cannons; all three guns are radar-controlled. For air defence, a quadruple launcher for Igla surface-to-air missiles (NATO: SA-N-5) is also available. Two gas turbines of 5,000 hp each give the ship a top speed of up to 42 knots (78 km/h).

How the sea drones attacked

The attack was reportedly carried out from 03.45 local time (01.45 CET) by the special unit “Group 13” of Ukraine's main intelligence directorate. The video shows the first two naval drones being steered into the stern – apparently to deprive the corvette of its powerful propulsion. Defensive fire can also be seen, including machine-gun bursts; there is, however, no sign of the 76-millimetre gun firing.

The third surface drone must have hit, but cannot be seen in the video. The fourth heads straight for a large hole amidships on the port side. According to current Ukrainian information, a total of six drone boats hit the target; Russian sources say a total of ten were involved in the attack.

The corvette is normally crewed by five officers and 45 sailors. According to Russian sources, which thereby confirm the sinking, there were no casualties. Ukraine, for its part, states that the Russian search and rescue operation was unsuccessful.

Ukraine has not yet officially stated which type of surface drone was used; according to current information, it was the Magura V5. A total of four Ukrainian types are known so far. They are presumably all remotely controlled via satellite link. Given the resulting time delay, steering onto a target is unlikely to be an easy undertaking.

The attack on the “Ivanovets” was the first known swarm attack by naval drones on a warship in the history of naval warfare.