Ukraine triumphs in 'first-ever' drone-vs-drone boat battle — video shows Russian MBeK destroyed by Sargan 3000's 12.7mm automatic turret
Historic footage ends with the MBeK sinking nose-first into the Black Sea.
Ukraine’s Navy has claimed that it has won “the first-ever battle of unmanned naval boats” (machine translation). Its Sargan 3000 sea drone is shown destroying a Russian MBeK in the Black Sea in a video shared today on the official UA Navy Telegram channel.
In the video, you can see the Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicle (USV) target what is claimed to be a Russian MBek and fire several rounds with its 12.7mm ‘Protector RWS’ automatic turret. The official Telegram bulletin states that the Russian USV was “detected by the GUR units.” We understand GUR is an acronym for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.
After taking fire, there is at least one explosion, and then smoke begins to surround the Russian USV. Ukraine must also have had some flying drones in the vicinity, as we have some aerial footage of this historic unmanned naval duel.
Eventually, and we are uncertain how long the battle went on, the video shows the MBeK slipping down to its watery grave. The Russian vessel sank with a characteristic nose dive to the sea floor, perforated like a tea bag.
The Sargan 3000 entered service for the Ukrainian Navy in April 2026. Ahead of this latest headlining feat, the same type of USV hit the headlines for sinking a Russian FSB border patrol ship ‘Izumrud,’ off the coast of the Russian resort town Gelendzhik in mid-July.
Ukraine's unmanned sea drone is a multi-purpose platform, and its multi-payload flexibility appears to have been confirmed by imagery and operator statements. The automatic turret model in today’s video might be somewhat different from how the Izumrud wrecker was equipped, for example. Photos have also shown variants of this USV kitted out with an FPV drone carrier, plus two transport and launch containers, and a remote weapon station.
The Sargan 3000 is thought to be nearly 23 feet (6.9m) in length, has a combat radius of almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km), can carry a payload of up to 990 pounds (450kg), and has a top speed of around 50 knots. Ukraine can produce around 25 Sargan 3000 USVs a month, it is estimated.
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The U.S. and UK are also busy developing sea drones. Some are already being tasked with protecting undersea cables and pipelines.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
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alrighty_then Perhaps war will evolve to the point where robot armies do battle and whichever side wins dictates policy? The most powerful still rule but vastly fewer human casulties due to war... Like when street gangs agreed to rap battles instead of shooting each other to assert dominance, that sort of change can happen if our monkey brains accept it.Reply -
Scott_Tx Reply
Go watch Star Trek 'Taste of Armageddon' :)alrighty_then said:Perhaps war will evolve to the point where robot armies do battle and whichever side wins dictates policy? The most powerful still rule but vastly fewer human casulties due to war... Like when street gangs agreed to rap battles instead of shooting each other to assert dominance, that sort of change can happen if our monkey brains accept it. -
bolweval Reply
"Oh it's on"alrighty_then said:Perhaps war will evolve to the point where robot armies do battle and whichever side wins dictates policy? The most powerful still rule but vastly fewer human casulties due to war... Like when street gangs agreed to rap battles instead of shooting each other to assert dominance, that sort of change can happen if our monkey brains accept it. -
gamerk316 Reply
Isn't that the one where they essentially simulated the results of a conflict and asked the people who "died" to go off to their deaths?Scott_Tx said:Go watch Star Trek 'Taste of Armageddon' :)