December 8, 2025:
Toloka, a two year-old Ukrainian manufacturing operation, recently revealed its latest and most powerful naval drones, the TLK-1000, with a range of 2,000 kilometers and a five ton payload, and the TLK-400 with a range of 1,200 kilometers and a half ton payload.
Ukraine has been developing subsurface 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. Later, Ukraine developed the larger Marichka drone that is six meters long and one meter in diameter. Ukraine plans for a Western manufacturer to build and weaponize Ukrainian drones.
The TLK-150 was not intended for attacks but for reconnaissance. To do this it has a long mast that operates like a periscope but contains a digital video camera with night vision to record what is nearby. TLK-150 can be remotely controlled or operate autonomously using GPS. At night the small mast is nearly invisible as it leaves a small wake when moving and no wake at all when it is stationary.
There are three models of the battery powered TLK. The TLK-150 is 2.5 meters long, has a range of up to 100 kilometers and top speed of 20 kilometers an hour. Payload size is 20-50 kg depending on battery size. A larger battery provides more range. The TLK -150 can be used for reconnaissance, for enemy targets or to lay underwater minefields. In attack mode the TLK will approach slowly, usually at night when the small periscope containing the video camera and communications antenna is nearly invisible to enemy eyes or surface radars. Sonars would also have a hard time detecting the TLK-150 because only silent electric motors power two propellers, one on each “wing” of the TLK.
Ukraine is testing the TLK-150 and may build a lot more of them if it performs as expected in the Black Sea. If an armed TLK-150 is able to attack Russian warships, that will further change the naval balance in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian use of armed aerial and surface drones against Russian ships has been a mixed success because the Russians can spot these and use autocannon and heavy 12.7mm or 14.5mm machine-guns to destroy the attackers, even during night attacks.
Ukraine also has a government owned and operated manufacturing operation that builds naval drones, like the Magura naval surface drone. About a hundred of these drones defeated Russia’s Black Sea fleet. When the war started in 2022, the Magura V5 was just a concept, a preliminary design for a one ton 5.5 meter long naval drone. Magura initially used a fishing boat that had a solid waterproof cover added, along with batteries for propulsion. There were sensors and a compartment for 300 kg of explosives or weapons. These include a machine-gun protruding above the drone top while two Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles were in launch tubes, ready to be fired at Russian aircraft or helicopters. Magura has a substantial number of electronic components, including several day/night video cameras that give the remote operator a view of what is around the drone. There is also an autopilot, so the remote operator does not have to personally maneuver the drone over long stretches of open water. Magura is equipped with co
Most Magura missions are one-way, but those equipped with machine-guns and surface to air missiles are also used to attack Russian aircraft. Three months ago a Magura V7 used those two missiles to shoot down two Russian SU-30 jet fighters. This was the first time a naval drone had shot down warplanes. Earlier a Magura had used Ukrainian R-73 heat-seeking missiles to take down one Mi-8 helicopter and damage another.
In 2025 Ukraine introduced the Magura V7, which weighs about 1.2 tons and can carry 650 kg of weapons. Its operational range is a thousand kilometers. The V7 can also be equipped with an electricity generator, enabling it to stay at sea for up to seven days. This model can move at speeds of up to 72 kilometers an hour. Cruising speed is 43 kilometers an hour.
The Ukrainian experience using naval drones to defeat the Russian Black Sea Fleet was unique. Ukraine had only surface-to-ship missiles when the war started, but eventually shifted to three new naval drones, Sea Baby, Mother, and MAGURA, or Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus.
Some of these naval drones were used for a mid-2023 Kerch Bridge attack. One of the drones carried 850 kg of explosives and inflicted enough damage to halt use of the bridge. The Mother drone carries 450 kg and MAGURA 320 kg. In addition to attacking targets, these drones can also be used for reconnaissance and surveillance using video cameras that broadcast what they see back to the drone operator. Some drones have been armed with small rocket launchers. The Mother drone has a range of over 700 kilometers and can operate on the high seas. Endurance is about 60 hours, and top speed is over 70 kilometers an hour. Mother was used for an attack on the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk, which is a thousand kilometers from Crimea.
Ukrainian drones have been quite successful in attacking and sinking or disabling Russian navy ships. So far there have been over a dozen attacks which resulted in sinking or damaging about twenty ships.
Ukrainian drone operations in the Black Sea forced the Russian Black Sea Fleet to withdraw to the eastern shore of the Black Sea. Sevastopol was no longer a safe place to be, and Russian ships could no longer launch their Kalibr cruise missiles without risking attack by Ukrainian drones. The presence and aggressive use of the drones meant that Ukraine’s grain corridor was kept open despite Russia’s threats to interfere. Beyond symbolic significance, the corridor holds critical economic importance for Ukraine and is expected to contribute up to seven percent to GDP growth in 2024 because of the grain shipments.
Russian countermeasures to Ukrainian naval drones included using aircraft and helicopters to destroy slow-moving drones before they attack, and expanding use of jamming to disrupt drone control signals. These changes made it much more difficult for Ukrainian naval drones to reach and destroy targets. But by 2025 the Russians had already lost control of the Black Sea and were not getting it back.