On December 9, The Drive's military news site The War Zone reported that Ukraine announced the deployment of unmanned Sea Baby boats to confront the Russian army.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU/SBU) said the Sea Baby was armed with large-scale machine guns and was in combat with various Russian military equipment in an attack near the Crimean bridge on the night of December 5-6. However, the outcome of the attack is still unclear.
The video released by SSU/SBU shows a series of Russian military equipment, including Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopters, Raptor patrol ships and a fighter jet, being attacked by a series of powerful shells from Sea Baby.
However, the footage was not clear enough to determine exactly what type of fighter jet was attacked. Based on identifying characteristics, experts say this could be a Su-30SM model, a type of aircraft that regularly operates in the Black Sea region, including missions against Ukrainian maritime forces.
According to the caption of the video provided by SSU/SBU, the helicopters were severely damaged and required extensive repairs, and there were casualties among the Russian soldiers. Unmanned boats also attacked a barge carrying military equipment and tools to repair the Crimean Bridge, which Russia is still trying to restore after previous attacks.
SSU/SBU said the Sea Baby is equipped with optical and infrared camera systems, along with a control interface similar to other remote-controlled weapons systems. Based on kamikaze ships, the Sea Baby has expanded its functions but it is unclear whether its machine gun will be used in a similar way.
Over the past year, SSU/SBU has deployed various versions of the Sea Baby, including models equipped with rocket launchers or R-73 missiles - a type of anti-aircraft missile that has been adapted for sea use.
The actual effectiveness of Sea Baby models equipped with weapons is still a controversial issue. With production costs of up to hundreds of thousands of USD per unit, this resource allocation decision needs to be carefully considered, especially in the context of the risk of military aid from the West being interrupted.
