Ukraine’s Drone Boats Are Now Aircraft Carriers

And Russia’s Coastal Defenses Are Feeling It

Magura V5 courtesy AFU

The Ukrainian Navy—yes, the same navy without any actual big ships—has figured out a way to wage war on the water that would make any defense strategist sit up and take notes.

They’ve turned their unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) into floating drone launch pads, adding yet another headache for Russia’s coastal defenses.

A video shared in December by OSINTtechnical on X shows the destruction that these small, USV “aircraft carriers” can cause.

These robotic strike boats, operated by the Ukrainian Navy and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), have been around for a while. But recently, in what may be their boldest strike to date, Ukrainian naval forces pulled off a precision coastal raid deep inside Russian-occupied southern Ukraine—somewhere between Thursday night and Friday morning last week.

The target? A pair of Russian air defense systems: the Osa and the Strela, both turned into smoldering scrap metal courtesy of FPV drones launched from the water by unmanned or uncrewed surface vessels (USVs).

The operation, reported by the Sternenko Foundation, wasn’t just a lucky shot—it was the product of some serious battlefield engineering ingenuity. Ukraine’s now-iconic USVs like the Sea Baby and Magura V5 aren’t just suicide boats anymore.

From Kamikaze Boats to Reusable Drone Carriers

When Ukraine first introduced these USVs, they were essentially kamikaze boats—packed with explosives and sent on one-way missions to ram Russian ships. And they were devastatingly effective.