The Ukrainian military has confirmed that an armed encounter recently occurred between Ukrainian and Russian unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and that the Ukrainian craft was able to successfully sink its opponent.
Officials said a USV of the Ukrainian Navy was deployed in the Black Sea in response to an intelligence report and interdicted a smaller attack USV of Russian origin.
The Ukrainian USV was armed with a 12.7mm machine gun fitted on a remote weapon station. Officials confirmed that this weapon was used to successfully sink the Russian attack drone.
The Ukrainian Navy reported the supposed encounter and posted an accompanying video on Saturday, September 12. However, no details have been provided on when and where the encounter occurred, and the claim has not been independently verified by other sources.
The reports also did not provide details on the sea state, the range between the opposing USVs, and whether the Russian craft attempted any evasive manoeuvres that would have made it difficult to hit.
Ukrainian officials said this was the first time in history that a USV destroyed another in actual combat.
