United24 charity platform starts fundraiser for 35 naval drones
Фото: defence-ua.com
The UNITED24 fundraising platform, monobank and Ukrainian bloggers launch a fundraiser for 35 maritime drones for a special unit of the Security Service.
Volunteers intend to raise nearly $8 million and in case of full payment for one drone worth $200,000, the donor will be able to assign their own name to it, the digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov says.
What is the problem?
Russia had total dominance in the Black Sea, possessing a squadron of missile frigates (and boats with similar weapons), submarines, and many support ships.
They could be supported by aircraft from the occupied Crimea. Ukraine had nothing to respond, lacking large warships capable of going to sea to fight Russian forces.
Russian ships could anchor 300 kilometers away and fire missiles and conduct reconnaissance without any resistance from long-range missile systems.
However, in 2022, Ukraine created the world's first fleet of maritime drones. Small and fast unmanned boats have changed the course of events at sea. Russia is increasingly losing its deadly ships and is forced to move them as far away from Ukrainian shores as possible.
What is the solution?
The UNITED24 fundraising platform and monobank have launched a fundraiser for 35 Sea Baby marine drones.
This is the first fundraiser for the legendary boats that helped the SSU hit the Crimean bridge and drown nine Russian vessels.
How does it work?
Sea Baby naval drones are a development of Ukraine's Security Service.
They can accelerate up to 90 km/h and cover a distance of up to 1000 kilometers. The body of the drone is made of a material hardly visible to radar.
The drones have already been used as "kamikaze drones" to strike enemy vessels. For this purpose, they are equipped with an 850-kilogram warhead that explodes upon contact with a target.
At least some of the drones were equipped with a launcher with six RPV-16 flamethrowers.
In October 2022, SSU naval drones attacked Russian Black Sea Fleet ships in Sevastopol Bay, damaging the Admiral Makarov frigate.
In 2023, SSU drones hit the Samum and Pavel Derzhavin missile carriers, the SIG tanker, the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship, and damaged the Nikolay Moore tugboat and the newest reconnaissance and hydrographic ship, the Vladimir Kozitsky.
You can support the initiative here: https://u24.gov.ua/uk/seababy
