The lord of grief

Russia used new weapons for the explosion of the bridge in the Odessa region - an unmanned sea drone. Novyevropa tells which device could be used for such an operation

The road of life

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on February 10, for the first time during the war in Ukraine, used a marine surface drone. The head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny reported in his telegram channel that he notified by the phone about this incident the chairman of the United Committee of the United States of the United States General Mill Milli: “He shared anxiety in connection with the use of marine regulatory drones, which threatened civil shipping in the Black Sea,” the report said.

The day after the incident, a video of the bridge undermined in the Odessa region appeared in the telegram channels. These frames show how the high-speed surface drone-Kamikaze hit the divorced railway-automobile bridge over the Dniester Liman in the village of Zatoka on the Budak spit at the exit to the Black Sea. The messages said that the attack damaged the support of the structure. Obviously, the bridge requires serious repair.

As a result of the attack, the southern part of the Odessa region was completely cut off. From Ukraine, you can now get there only along the highway passing through the neighboring Moldova. The bridge in Zatoka has already been attacked by the Russian armed forces. From the end of April to May 17, 2022, this object was fired at at least five times with Caliber missiles released from the ships of the Black Sea Fleet. In total, more than ten expensive ammunition were used.

Despite serious damage, the structure was quickly restored. After all, it is for it that fuel from neighboring countries enters Ukraine. For example, from the Moldovan port of Jurdjulesta, where fuel is overloaded from tankers to tanks, which are walking along the only railway branch to the central regions of Ukraine.

If the bridge is destroyed, serious interruptions in both gasoline and diesel fuel will begin in the country. In addition to civil vehicles, the problem will also affect military equipment, so necessary at the front.

New weapons

Apparently, desperate to destroy the infrastructure facility with missiles, the Russian side decided to try a new type of weapons on it-the surface drone-Kamikadze.

Weapons of this type were used by the army of the Russian Federation for the first time. This unmanned surface apparatus is a type of sea drone. Such devices can engage in reconnaissance, transportation of goods, as well as act in the role of shock drones-Kamikadze.

“The surface drones have a high speed, a fairly large range and low radar visibility,” the New-European Evropa tells the Russian weapons expert. - All this allows such a device to approach the selected goals located on the sea and not far from it: ports, individual ships and other objects. It was such drones on October 29, 2022 by the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the base of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. During that operation, the Admiral Makarov frigate was damaged.

One of these drones was discovered on the coast of Crimea near Sevastopol. Russian experts studied this mechanism and probably considered promising for use. ”

According to our interlocutor, the design of the Russian Navy used is a secret. Therefore, we can only talk about its tactical and technical characteristics in general terms. “Judging by the strength of the explosion, the warhead can be comparable in power with a 250-kilogram high-explosive bomb,” the source continues. - A radio -controlled boat 3-5 meters long with a powerful engine and a speed of about 35–40 knots (65–75 km/h) and a combat unit filled with explosives could be used as a carrier. The radius of the device is 300-400 km. Therefore, the drone could even launch from Sevastopol, from which to the blown up bridge about 290 km. Or the device was launched from one of the Russian submarines. Drone is controlled using satellite or radionics. It is equipped with cameras, in real time transmitting the image to the command post. "

In Russia there are several design bureaus engaging in the development of control systems for such devices. For example, the Center for Technological Projects of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University of Peter the Great, who together with the Granit-Electron concern in 2021 The Kibberboat-330 unmanned boat. Or Central Design Bureau of Marine equipment "Rubin". On the website of the Central Design Bureau of the MT “Rubin” it is written that it is “the organization leading in Russia to create marine robotics systems ... In cooperation with Russian enterprises and research organizations, the Rubin Central Design Bureau is a full cycle of creating marine robotics-the development, manufacture, testing and delivery of the customer”.

Another enterprise that could be behind the creation of a sea drone is Zala Aero Group, a subsidiary of the Kalashnikov concern, which demonstrated the Titon catamaran-robot, capable of conducting air, surface and underwater reconnaissance and destroying targets at a distance of up to 1000 kilometers from the control point. The Russian expert says that there are already several types of sea drones in the service of the Russian Navy.

The main we are talking about underwater intelligence and shock apparatuses: “harpsichord-1r” and “harpoons-2r”, “filtel”, “Marlin-350”, “Status 6”.

Another version of the appearance of the Russian Army of the surface drones-Kamikadze is the supply of them from Iran. “Iran is very interested in creating such devices,” explains our source. - In August and September 2022, the Navy more than once tried to hide the drones of the United States. Thus, the Jamaran frigate Iranian Navy tried to capture in the Red Sea two surface reconnaissance military unmanned vehicles of the USA type “SALDRONE Explorer”, which took place there. At the last moment, their property managed to recapture the ships of the American naval forces urgently approaching. ”

Interestingly, Ukraine launched funds from the world's first fleet of sea drones. Lithuanian citizens have already acquired at least two such devices at a price of 250 thousand US dollars and called them names with very transparent hints of “Peace Dez” and “Peace Yes”.