First ever battle between two autonomous naval drones 'won' by Ukraine thanks to a salvo from a remote weapon turret

Date:
Tue, 15 Sep 2026 19:25:00 +0000

Description:
A Sargan-3000 drone boat has engaged in the first unmanned sea battle with an uncrewed Russian seacraft, and come away the winner.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Ukraines navy has claimed victory over a Russian drone boat in the first recorded seaborne drone battle The exchange took place in the Black Sea Russia has yet to confirm that its craft was sunk by the Ukrainian Sargan-3000 closed An unmanned Ukrainian
naval vessel has destroyed a Russian drone boat in what is thought to be the first military exchange of its kind. The uncrewed vessels encountered each other in the Black Sea, with the Ukrainian Sargan-3000 destroying the enemy craft using its Protector RWS turret.

While described as a first, the claim has not yet been independently
verified. Ukraine has not confirmed the date, time, or location of the engagement. In addition, Russia has so far declined to confirm whether the exchange took place, or that it lost a vessel. The news, however, follows an increase in seaborne drone activity by Ukraine, and comes just a few months after launching the Sargan-3000 into service. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: What is a Sargan-3000? Introduced into active service in April 2026, the Sargan-3000 was described as a multi-purpose platform
which suggests the craft can be easily modified to house weapons, sensors.
The term typically indicates a design that can house mission-specific
modules, and the Sargan-3000 seems to have been involved in a wide variety of missions since its commissioning.

Ukraine has expanded maritime drone operations within the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov during 2026, with 105 Russian vessels known to have been attacked in the Sea of Azov. The Sargan-3000 has been described as highly
maneuverable, but its physical characteristics are currently unknown. You may like Ukraine flags that Russia could have a secret fleet of autonomous military vessels stalking the seas Ukraine hits Russian Crimea targets with unmanned ship carrying FPV drones First UAVs that can stalk and kill Russian Shahed drones autonomously have been battle-tested in the Kharkiv region We
do know, however, that it can carry a Protector RWS, itself a modular system capable of mounting various weapons systems: machine guns, grenade launchers, and anti-tank missiles.

A remote-controlled 12.7mm machine gun turret (possibly an M2 Browning, or an NSV) was used in the encounter with the Russian vessel. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get
all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Drone engagements Ukraine has other unmanned sea vessels at its disposal . While the Sargan-3000 is under the Ukrainian navy, a craft called Sea Baby is used by the Security Service of Ukraine. This 6 meter long boat is believed to have a 1,000 km range, and can carry a payload of around 850 kg. It is believed to be used primarily against moored (anchored)
targets, which suggests it can be deployed pretty quickly.

The Magura V5, meanwhile, is under the Defence Intelligence group. This is a shorter craft with a lighter payload and cannot manage the same range as the Sea Baby, but has a similar role.

In the most recent incident, were told that the Russian vessel was identified by Ukraines Defense Intelligence Directorate, clearing the Ukrainian Navy unmanned craft to engage with the enemy. An earlier incident, in July 2026, featured a similar Ukrainian vessel remotely sink a Russian craft in the
Black Sea.

Taking place off Gelendzhik, the Russian border patrol ship PSKR Izumrud was
a casualty of an overall strategy that has seen Ukraine force Russias Black Sea Fleet into retreating from Crimea. Follow TechRadar on Google News and
add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/first-ever-battle-between-two-autonomous-naval-d rones-won-by-ukraine-thanks-to-a-salvo-from-a-remote-weapon-turret


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