XPost: sci.military.naval, soc.history.war.misc

from https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/05/innovative-submarine-drone-is-ukraines-new-weapon-against-russian-navy/

Go to the citation to see the graphic with plenty of interesting info.

Innovative Submarine Drone Is Ukraine’s New Weapon Against Russian Navy

Toloka-TLK-150-maritime-drone (UUV)
Click to Enlarge. The new weapon, the Toloka TLK-150, is much smaller
than previous Ukrainian maritime drones. It likely has a much shorter
range and slower speed, but should make up for that by being more
stealthy and more survivable.
Innovative Submarine Drone Is Ukraine’s New Weapon Against Russian Navy Ukraine is becoming known for using unconventional naval vessels against
the Russian Navy. It's 'maritime drones', which are robot boats loaded
with explosives, have helped shape the war in the Black Sea. Now a new
maritime drone has been revealed, one which operates like a small submarine.
H I Sutton 10 May 2023

Ukraine is quickly gaining a reputation for innovation and ingenuity.
Faced with the Russian invasion, many inventors and small businesses are answering the call of national defense. New designs are surfacing all
the time.

The Ukrainian government is doing its best to both harness this
creativity, and bring it together in an efficient and coordinated way.
A new group, Brave1, has recently been established to manage this.

One of the new weapons on show when Brave1 was officially launched is of particular interest from a navy perspective. It is a small robotic
submarine, the Toloka TLK-150 maritime drone.

Taking The Fight To The Russian Navy
Ukraine has already enjoyed significant strategic success pushing the
Russian Navy, who initially dominated the northern Black Sea, into a
defensive posture. The threat of anti-ship missiles, like the ones which
sunk the cruiser Moskva, have pushed the Russian Navy back over the
horizon. And innovative weaponized uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) have
helped keep them penned up in their ports.

But the resulting void in ythe northern Black Sea is far from being a
Ukrainian lake. The Russians can still operate there to launch missiles,
or to support ground operations if the need arrives. And Ukrainian
vessels, even the small USVs, can be picked off by Russian aircraft. So
it is perhaps natural that Ukraine is developing robotic submarines,
known formally as uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV).

The TLK-150 is the first indigenous UUV revealed. The design is
unconventional, showing its homegrown nature. It has larger stabilizers
than other UUVs and much wider spaces propulsors (propellers). This may
not be a bad thing, and it shows that it is not a mere copy of anything
going before. This small weapon complements the now famous uncrewed
surface vessels (USVs) which already threaten the Russian Navy in its
main base at Sevastopol.

Design Of The New Maritime Drone
Ukraine has recently acquired some UUVs from Western governments. These
are principally to support mine clearing efforts and include 6 supplied
via the United Kingdom. Some of this knowhow may have transferred to the
new type, although the design and technology will be completely separate.

The TLK-150 is quite a small drone, being only 2.5 meters (8 feet) long. Unusually it has twin thrusters mounted on small wing-like stabilizers
and a large keel. Combined with a separate rudder and forward mounted
dive planes this should provide excellent agility.

There is a very tall mast with cameras and communications devices. The
keel may be to balance this mast. It is possible that this can be used
as a periscope for intelligence gathering missions close to the enemy
shore. It might also allow ‘human in the loop’ navigation and aiming to carry out attacks.

Designs for two larger UUVs were also revealed by Brave1. The TLK-400 is
over twice as long at 4-6 meters (13-20 feet). It also has a much larger diameter body inferring greater range and payload. The TLK-1000 would be
much larger again, up to 12 meters (40 feet) in length and with four
thrusters. It is unclear whether these larger designs have been built.

TAGS Black Sea Russia Ukrainian Navy
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin PinterestMore
AUTHORS

Posted by : H I Sutton
H I Sutton writes about the secretive and under-reported submarines,
seeking out unusual and interesting vessels and technologies involved in fighting beneath the waves. Submarines, capabilities, naval special
forces underwater vehicles and the changing world of underwater warfare
and seabed warfare. To do this he combines the latest Open Source
Intelligence (OSINT) with the traditional art and science of defense
analysis. He occasionally writes non-fiction books on these topics and
draws analysis-based illustrations to bring the subject to life. In
addition, H I Sutton is a naval history buff and data geek. His personal website about these topics is Covert Shores (www.hisutton.com)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)