The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has equipped its Sea Baby drones with the capability to remotely mine maritime routes. This tactic has already destroyed four Russian ships, according to The Wall Street Journal.
After SSU maritime drones began disrupting the lives of Russian ships, the terrorists built barriers at the entrance to the temporarily occupied port of Sevastopol. This significantly hindered drone strikes.
The solution to this problem was proposed by Brigadier General Ivan Lukashevych. His team built a special Sea Baby drone capable of laying mines provided to Ukraine by Western partners.
How mines work
These are plastic mines weighing about 400 pounds (181 kilograms). They are difficult to detect because they hide in the silt in shallow waters.
The ammunition is equipped with acoustic and electromagnetic sensors that can detect the presence of a ship and detonate accordingly.
Planning operations and targeting ships
Over the next month and a half, Lukashevych's team tracked the maritime routes of Russian terrorists as well as civilian traffic. After this, the Sea Baby was deployed to lay two mines.
The first results of the operation came on September 14, 2023, when the guided missile corvette Samum hit one of the mines. The blast damaged the stern of the ship, which remains under repair in dry dock.
In the following weeks, the Sea Baby covered more than 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) and laid another 15 mines. During one of its journeys, it was detected by three Raptor class patrol boats, and it retaliated with a grenade launcher.
On October 11, the large patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin was blown up as it attempted to enter Sevastopol Bay. It "limped" to the port for inspection. On October 13, as it was sent to another port, it hit another mine at the bay's exit. A large tugboat sent to rescue the ship also hit a mine.
"A few days later, a modern mine-countermeasure ship, one of two in Russia's arsenal, exploded," the report states.