Russian engineers clear debris from naval drones in search of clues to Kyiv's mysteries

Drone targets landing ship near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk Photo: Anonymous

Russia is trying to copy Ukraine's sophisticated and deadly naval drones, Ob Western and Ukrainian intelligence agencies said.

Ukrainian military intelligence said it saw Russian troops collecting pieces of destroyed naval drones for Russian engineers to study and try to analyze.

< p> Military Department spokesman Andrei Yusov said: “They are working on it and carefully collecting the debris.

“ They are trying to collect something workable from the remains as much as possible and try to set up production.”

The Ukrainian naval drone fleet is considered one of the most advanced in the world and, of course, the most battle-tested. It could attack and harass the Russian fleet in Black Sea harbors, forcing it to retreat to increasingly distant bases.

Russia's naval drone program is considered far more rudimentary, although it appears tempting. up.

Ukrainian military intelligence said the Kremlin has ordered 10 advanced and larger naval drones from one of its weapons suppliers. They will have a top speed of 50 mph, a range of about 120 miles and an explosive payload of more than half a ton.

President Vladimir Putin has over the past year rebuilt the Russian economy to suit his military needs. rearmament and reconstruction of its army after almost 22 months of heavy fighting in Ukraine.

This reconstruction focused on the production of tanks and artillery shells, as well as the recruitment of soldiers, as well as the Russian navy, which suffered from Ukrainian naval drones.

British military intelligence has confirmed a Russian order for large naval drones. and said Ukrainian naval drones were now a “key capability” in the battle for control of the Black Sea.

It said: “The Russian defense industry is moving to close the capability gap with Ukraine in the development of single-acting unmanned surface vehicles.»

Ukrainian naval drones struck the 12-mile bridge connecting occupied Crimea to the Russian mainland, hitting Russian ships in the harbor of Sevastopol, its main Black Sea base, and in Novorossiysk, 250 miles away .

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The Kremlin has become so nervous about the capabilities and capabilities of Ukrainian naval drones that it even announced plans to build a new Black Sea Fleet base in Abkhazia, a pro-Russian rebel region of Georgia that sits on the Black Sea , but is located 600 miles from Crimea.