Naval Drones – A New Wunderwaffe?

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Unmanned surface vessel (USV) is a modern means of conducting marine combat operations. The US Defence Department has begun searching for contractors to create low-cost autonomous (unmanned) boats (USV) in order to increase the combat potential of the US Navy expeditionary forces. This is against the backdrop of successful and strategically important operations in conflict zones such as the war in Ukraine.

As part of the Production-Ready, Inexpensive, Maritime Expeditionary (PRIME) Small Unmanned Surface Vehicle (SUSV) project, the Pentagon plans to build a flotilla of inexpensive autonomous unmanned boats capable of chasing and destroying enemy ships.

Naval drone will be capable of traveling from 500 to 1,000 nautical miles (900 to 1,800 kilometers)  with a total payload of 1,000 lbs (450 kg) and a travel speed of at least 35 knots (65 kilometers per hour). The backup systems will have an autonomous navigation system and ensure the effective performance of combat missions, even in the absence of a GPS signal.

The Taiwanese and Philippine Navies plan to focus on USVs as an effective combat vehicle for asymmetric wars. In the future, Taiwan intends to create the capacity to launch hundreds of them from its numerous piers and small islands, to repel any invasion from the PLA Navy. Back-up systems would be deployed, complete with naval mines, anti-ship missiles and other types of weapons. USVs could have a serious psychological effect on a stronger opponent, leading to the withdrawal of enemy warships from the conflict zone, and the redistribution of resources to defence against such attacks.

Calculations have shown that, with a cost of $250,000 per USV, Taiwan can build 1,000 units for just 1% of its annual defence spending of $20-25 billion. The cost of fuel, maintenance and training is also low.

The main tasks that modern USVs will perform are:

1) carrying out patrol duty to protect ship parking areas, and patrol the waters of ports and naval bases;

2) countering sabotage and terrorist attacks on rivers, ports and coastal waters;

3) combating submarines and other underwater combat assets of the enemy, including combat swimmers and their carriers;

4) detecting and destroying mines, particularly in amphibious landing areas, along with covert mine installations;

5) providing electronic warfare by setting up active and passive interference;

6) ensuring that large ships solve the tasks of repelling attacks by inconspicuous high-speed naval surface targets;

7) delivering a massive strike by hundreds of USVs against the enemy’s maritime infrastructure and naval bases.

Note that an important point is the ability of the backup drums to act both alone and as part of a “swarm”.

American experts believe that remote backup systems should become the main means of isolating Crimea, and therefore, new approaches to conducting military operations in the Black Sea are being developed. The main targets for USV attacks are the base in Sevastopol, the Crimean Bridge and the various supply ships. After several successful such attacks, Russian specialists began to use relatively cheap means of counteraction – from float safety nets to shooting at the USV with small arms.

Destroyed USV on the west coast of Crimea, Cape Tarkhankut area

The Crimean bridge has also been protected with anti-sabotage booms, and fences that prevent the passage of USVs. It is no secret that anti-sabotage or anti-torpedo float barriers have been widely used to protect naval bases since the Second World War. The Ukrainian armed conflict has shown that in the near future, marine UAVs will be able to show the same effectiveness as air UAVs. An era without manned surface vessels is coming, which will change the face of all military fleets in the world. USV attack ships are changing naval tactics, weapons, equipment, and the entire structure of fleets, just as torpedoes and anti-ship missiles did at the time. In American terminology, it is customary to call attack USVs (uncrewed surface vessels) – that is, exploding surface ships without a crew.

The American concept is of low-profile, explosive-packed USVs, weighing several hundred kgs, which can be controlled and directed to their targets through space or aerial control points. Their purpose will be to sink warships and destroy the enemy’s naval infrastructure. USVs are well suited for swarm network attacks and they are relatively inexpensive. Massive attacks using dozens of USVs can cause huge damage.

The U.S. Navy continues to integrate unmanned technologies into its combat systems, with a particular focus on defense against mines. Recently, the Independence-class frigate USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) completed a series of exercises using unmanned surface vehicles (USV), which was a significant step in the development of the mine action Module (MCM).

Independence-class frigate USS Santa Barbara

The mine protection module includes various components, among which stands out the Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV), developed by Textron Systems. This device is equipped with the AN/AQS-20C sonar, designed to detect sea mines, as well as the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS), which provides acoustic and magnetic trawling.

The Naval Forces of Ukraine are armed with several varieties of USV with very similar tactical and technical characteristics and combat capabilities. Ukraine has announced the development of a kamikaze boat for attacks on Russian coastal infrastructure and ships of the Black Sea Fleet, known as the Magura V5.

Magura V5

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Experts believe that for the most part, the components for assembling this are manufactured in England and the USA. In Ukraine, only the final assembly of the devices is carried out.

The length of the boat is 5.5 m, the width is not more than 2 m. The total mass of the marine drone is one ton, 300kg of which is the high-explosive warhead inside the hull. The detonation can be carried out upon contact with the target or at the command of the operator. The Magura V5 marine drone is equipped with a gasoline boat engine and can reach speeds of up to 80 km / h. The range of combat use is 800 km, with a time range of 60 hours.

The boat is controlled by an operator console. There is also a self-guided route mode. The operator controls the marine drone using radio commands, and a telemetry and video signal from the boat’s optoelectronic system. Communication with the device is carried out via the Starlink satellite system with signal encryption. The cost of one such marine drone is approximately $250 thousand. More than a hundred similar devices are in the planning stage.

Ankara is also developing its own USVs (which may possibly be used in Ukraine). In particular, the Turkish company METEKSAN, together with the shipbuilding company ARES Shipyard, developed the ULAQ KAMA kamikaze marine drone. The manufacturing companies stated that they are ready to manufacture 100 ULAQ KAMA-type back-up units for the customer within 1 year at their own facilities.

ULAQ KAMA

Turkish ULAQ KAMA kamikaze boats will be usable not only for their intended purpose, but also for patrolling the water area or conducting reconnaissance. The probable mode of warhead detonation will be direct contact with the target, or through remote operation, or through the use of control system data, issued based on a comparison of visual data.

The ULAQ KAMA USV has the following characteristics: hull length – 6.37 meters, width – 1.2 meters, speed – more than 20 knots, range – more than 200 nautical miles, seaworthiness – up to 4 points, weight – 1.3 tons, of which the warhead or other payload – 200 kilograms.

It is possible that the ULAQ KAMA USV may be deployed in the Ukrainian Navy in the near future.

The disadvantage of any USV is the surface part, which makes it possible for radar stations to detect USV on the surface of the sea. This includes those equipped with an optical channel. At relatively long ranges, the USV can also be detected by visual surveillance posts. They are also relatively easily hit by small-arms and cannon fire, for example, using 12.7 mm and 14.5 mm heavy machine guns, as well as 30 mm AK-630 naval artillery units with a single six-barrel rotating cannon, which can literally blow the drone to pieces. USV control systems can also be paralyzed using electronic warfare, as the marine drone is guided by the operator using radio commands, and a satellite signal is used to solve navigation problems. Traditional boom barriers and naval mines can also be used to deny access, and it is likely that these will be among the most effective anti- USV methods. Therefore, for all its advantages, the USV will never be as invulnerable as might be desired.

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