Underwater Drones Strike Sub

 

“Ukraine said it used underwater drones to strike and critically damage a Russian submarine, claiming a first in maritime warfare and mounting a display of Kyiv's ability to find innovative ways to wound its giant neighbor after nearly four years of conflict.

 

The Security Service of Ukraine, the SBU, said it "effectively disabled" a Russian submarine in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Footage released by the SBU showed an explosion near a docked submarine in a crowded naval port.

 

The attack showed Ukraine's ability to hit Russia on its own territory in new ways as the U.S. is pushing Ukraine to accept a deal to end the conflict that appears to favor Russia, citing Ukraine's apparent weakness.

 

The apparent attack, which The Wall Street Journal couldn't independently confirm, could herald a new front in naval warfare where small craft are already scuttling giant ships.

 

Other navies and defense companies, including the U.S., are rushing to develop such technologies in a bet they can revolutionize underwater warfare in the way aerial drones have in the skies.

 

Cynthia Cook, an expert on such technology, said that while it is too early to draw firm conclusions from Ukraine's claims, it appears to be significant.

 

"Submarines are some of a nation's most strategic assets, and the fact that one was attacked by a drone serves as a next step for underwater sea warfare," said Cook, a senior fellow for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.

 

Ukraine has been at the forefront of using naval drones to undercut the power of its foe, using explosive craft to damage or sink around two dozen Russian ships and forcing the Russian Black Sea Fleet to withdraw from occupied Crimea to a Russian mainland port.

 

Navies have long used smaller -- typically remote-controlled -- underwater vessels for mine clearance and other tasks. In February 2024, the U.S. said it destroyed an unmanned underwater vessel deployed by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

 

The SBU said that successfully attacking a vessel with an underwater drone was a first. Ukraine has said it twice used missiles to strike another Russian submarine of the Black Sea Fleet's five that were in service in the sea at the start of the conflict.

 

The SBU said the drone, dubbed Sub Sea Baby, hit a Russian Kilo-class submarine armed with four cruise-missile launchers.

 

Ukraine is under pressure from President Trump's administration to seal a peace deal with Russia by year-end. Trump says Ukraine is losing the conflict.” [1]

Circus with the drones is not helping. 

 

1. World News: Underwater Drones Strike Sub. MacDonald, Alistair.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 16 Dec 2025: A7.