Uncrewed.

This is coolbert:

"Uncrewed explosive boats seem intuitively sensible, an obvious development. Being uncrewed de-risks many operations, making them virtually expendable. Major navies have shied away from these types of systems, generally seen as desperation weapons. But in war they suddenly appear obvious, like an idea everyone will say they knew but no one mentioned. It does not seem far fetched to say that soon almost every navy will have equivalent systems."

See from the H. I. Sutton Internet web site "Covert Shores" several articles as relevant to the Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessel [USV] attack the Black Sea.

H. I. probably more correct in labeling these weapons as "uncrewed" rather than "umanned" For reasons which I will not discuss.

1. "Ukraine's New USV Compared"

H I Sutton 22 September 2022.

"On September 21 a previously unreported USV (uncrewed surface vessel) was found on a beach outside a Russian Navy base in the Black Sea. The small, low-profile design appears to be a form of uncrewed explosive boat. Although unconfirmed, there is an understanding that it is Ukrainian. Its conceptual simplicity combined with relative sophistication set it apart from previous explosive boats."

2. "Explosive_boats"

H I Sutton  but dated from over five year ago. 22 February 2017.

"A brief history of Explosive Boats"

"The recent attack on a Saudi frigate off Yemen by Houthi rebels using a remote controlled explosive boat brings these craft into focus. There have been a lot of different explosive boats developed over the years although few are well known. They are not only used by non-State actors and their history is actually closely intertwined with the minisubs used by Naval Special Forces."

The combat employment of USV hardly limited to the Black Sea attack. A whole variety of actors see an obvious advantage to using these asymmetric weapons. War of the flea where the flea can sting with a big bite.

See previous blog entries the USV attack Black Sea:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/11/cots.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2022/10/usv.html

coolbert.