The Russian Ministry of Defense announced, "A drone crew from the Rubikon Center detected and destroyed a Ukrainian unmanned surface vessel in the Black Sea, off the coast of Crimea on 24/9/2024".
In the released video, a Russian reconnaissance drone tracks the Ukrainian unmanned boat moving at high speed. Subsequent footage, taken from the Lancet suicide drone's optical sensor, shows the drone locking onto the target and engaging in autonomous pursuit.
The Russian drone strikes the Ukrainian vessel, causing it to explode.
The Ukrainian military has not commented on the video.
The Russian Ministry of Defense established the Rubikon Experimental Center in August 2024, based on an existing military drone unit. The center recruits and trains instructors, enhancing the expertise of drone operators across various units. Rubikon also develops, tests, and deploys advanced robotic systems, providing training for their operation.
Open-source data, based on verified images, indicates Lancet drones have engaged over 3,700 Ukrainian targets since their first combat deployment in July 2022. The actual number may be higher, as the Russian military withholds many videos for security reasons.
Of these engagements, Lancets completely destroyed 900 targets, damaged 1,769, and the results of the remaining attacks are unclear.
Ukraine has recently increased attacks on targets in Crimea, aiming to weaken Russian military infrastructure on the peninsula.
Unmanned surface vessels are Ukraine's primary means of attacking Russian targets in the Black Sea and along the Crimean coast, largely through suicide attacks. Some recent models are equipped with missile launchers to engage fighter jets and carry first-person view drones for strikes against targets further inland.
Pham Giang (RBC, TASS, Kyiv Independent)
