July 7, 2026:
Last month, an American Navy Saronic Corsair naval surface drone rescued two Army gunship pilots who crashed off the coast of Oman near the entry to the Persian Gulf. The AH-64 helicopter had been patrolling near the Strait of Hormuz and was shot down by Iranian forces.
The Corsair is an 11-meter vessel that can carry a ton of cargo up to 2,000 kilometers at a top speed of more than 60 kilometers an hour, with a cruising speed of less than half that.
Saronic has a related larger 82-meter Marauder naval drone that can carry 150 tons of cargo up to 7,300 kilometers at a top speed of 45 kilometers an hour and a cruising speed of 22 kilometers an hour. This drone can accommodate four 40-foot containers, eight 20-foot containers, or any other combination of cargo that will fit.
As usual, a lot of this new naval drone technology can be traced back to the Ukrainian experience two years ago. Its three operational Ukrainian marine drones are Sea Baby or Malyuk in Ukrainian, Mother or Mamai, and MAGURA, which means Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus. Sea Baby and Mother were developed by the SBU/Ukrainian Secret Service and the Navy. They are used by the 385th Separate Brigade, which specializes in naval warfare. MAGURA was developed by GUR/Main Intelligence Directorate and SpetsTechnoExport, a state-owned enterprise. At the end of 2023, the SBU unveiled an updated Cossack Mamai with a claimed top speed of 100 kilometers an hour. Manufacture of these drones is done in underground production facilities to avoid Russian missile and guided bomb attacks.
Malyuk was used in the mid-2023 Kerch Bridge attack and was carrying 850 kg of explosives to inflict sufficient damage. MAGURA carries 320 kg of explosives while Mamai carries 450 kg. These marine drones are no longer used just for delivering explosives against a target. They can also be used for reconnaissance when equipped with video cameras that broadcast what they see back to the drone operator. Some marine drones have been armed with small rocket launchers. Malyuk has a range of over 700 kilometers, which means it is suitable for operations on the high seas. Endurance is about 60 hours, and top speed is over 70 kilometers an hour. MAGURA has similar characteristics. Mamai was used in the long-range attack at the distant naval base at Novorossiysk on Russia’s eastern Black Sea coast, which is a thousand kilometers from Crimea.
Ukraine has been developing subsurface marine drones, and in early 2023 the first one, the Toloka2 TK-150, was introduced. This Drone was 2.5 meters long and equipped with a sensor mast that remained above the surface for navigation and to identify targets. Toloka2 can also carry a small explosive warhead. More recently, Ukraine developed the larger Marichka marine drone that is 6 meters long and one meter in diameter. Ukraine has planned for a Western manufacturer to build and weaponize Ukrainian marine drones.
Ukrainian marine drones have been quite successful in attacking and sinking or disabling Russian navy ships. Eventually, the Ukrainian marine drones destroyed most of the Russian Black Sea fleet. The longest-range raids have been against targets in the Kerch Strait and the more distant naval base at Novorossiysk.