Reported Sevastopol USV Attack

David R. Strachan -

Twitter OSINT accounts are reporting a possible attempted unmanned surface vehicle (USV) attack on the Russian Black Sea port of Sevastopol.

  • Media reports indicate that Mikhail Razvozhayev, Sevastopol governor, said via Telegram that 3 "objects" were destroyed by small arms fire.

  • Unverified imagery of the scene suggests that the attack could have been thwarted by a port barrier defense system (floating boom), which was installed shortly after the armed USV swarm attack on Sevastopol in October, 2022.

  • It is unclear whether the USVs used in today's attack were the same model as those used in October, 2022, and the November, 2022, Novorossiysk attacks. A report surfaced today that UKR has developed a new USV, but it is unknown whether it was used in this attack.

Today's attack was likely an attempt to penetrate the port defensive perimeter by forcible entry.

  • USV operators could have attempted to "fly" the boom by leveraging a higher sea state to act as a ramp, or by making a high-speed run through a gap between the boom floats.

    ->UPDATE 03/23/2023: There are now OSINT reports that two of the USVs were able to jump over the boom and were inside the harbor when destroyed.

  • Operators may have sought to breach the boom by ramming and detonating the USV warhead with the intention of weakening or severing a connection point between floats.

  • If more than one USV was involved in the operation, as reported, it is unclear whether all vehicles were used to attack the boom, or whether a single USV conducted the boom attack while others were designated as a follow-on force to attack targets within Sevastopol.

Although USV attacks initially had a strategic effect by forcing the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) to alter its operations and assume a defensive posture, recent OSINT suggests that the BSF has resumed regular deployments, and is largely undeterred by the armed USV threat.

  • Various media have claimed that RU warships (possibly a frigate and minesweeper) were struck during the October, 2022 attack, but there has been no OSINT verifying these claims, or any official battle damage assessment.

  • Although officially, the UKR USV is capable of accommodating a "combat load" of up to 200kg (440 pounds), there are unverified reports that the warhead is approximately 100kg (220 pounds).

  • Reporting suggests that in addition to floating security booms, RU has put point defenses in place to counter USV attacks against Black Sea port facilities.

  • While operating at sea, BSF commanders may not believe that the USVs pose a credible threat due to their limited range and relatively small warhead. Kilo-class submarines, comparatively more vulnerable to attack than armored warships during surface transit, have also deployed to the Black Sea and participated in cruise missile strikes.