Unique Operation by Ukraine's Navy — New Weaponry on the Sivash Drilling Platform

A military blogger and host of Army TV has reported on a unique operation carried out by the Ukrainian Navy on the Sivash drilling platform. This operation has emerged as a significant event, as it involved the use of the latest unmanned boats, drones, and, as it turned out, unidentified missiles, which raises interest in the tactics employed by Ukrainian forces in maritime operations.

While the public has already learned about the damage inflicted on the carrier of Kalibr missiles, Admiral Grigorovich, which was actually the frigate Hetman Mazepa, and the strike on the oil terminal in Sheskharis, Novorossiysk, the news of the air-sea operation by our Navy and unmanned systems at the Sivash drilling platform has remained less prominent. This location, which the Russians used to monitor the maritime and aerial situation, became an important target for Ukrainian forces.

The Sivash drilling platform served as a buffer zone for the Russians to control our actions on the way to occupied Crimea. Optical and radar surveillance systems were deployed here, and elite units provided security. Footage released shows Russian military personnel opening fire on our unmanned boats, which, in turn, employed available electronic warfare and air defense systems. This indicates that the platform was well-prepared for combat operations and intelligence gathering.

The scale of the operation is impressive: Ukrainian military forces utilized a significant number of assets, including unmanned boats, anti-ship missiles, long-range drones, and objective control drones. Notably, the Unmanned Systems Forces, part of the 413th Raid Regiment, operated FP drones, demonstrating a high level of coordination and preparation.

It is worth noting that the unmanned boats involved in the operation turned out not to be Maguras, as previously thought, but new Sargan 3000 models. Final footage reveals that this was not a kamikaze boat but a floating turret equipped with a machine gun. This came as a shock to Russian troops, as they did not expect to come under fire from a machine gun from the sea while a drone flew overhead and several cruise missiles headed toward their target.

Particular attention is drawn to the missiles used during the operation. The video clearly shows the rectangular silhouette of a transport-launch container (TLC), whereas it is known that the Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile has cylindrical TLCs. This may indicate that either a new Neptune with a rectangular TLC is being utilized or the Swedish anti-ship missile RBS-15 with a warhead weighing 200 kg and a range of 200 km. This could potentially be the first instance of such missiles being used against Russian military forces.

Military experts and bloggers are eagerly awaiting additional details from the Ukrainian Navy, as the video of the operation on the Sivash drilling platform generates much more excitement than yet another strike on a Kalibr carrier or the Sheskharis terminal. This highlights the systematic work of the Ukrainian Navy, which is demonstrating truly unique operations using the latest weaponry.

This text is published with the author's permission.

Tags: Russia's War Against Ukraine, Black Sea, Ukrainian Drones, Neptune, Magura.