385th Unmanned Surface Vehicles Brigade

Lore & Background

The existence of Ukrainian USVs became public knowledge after their first combat use by the Ukrainian Navy in September 2022 during a raid in Sevastopol. Since then, USVs have been used on multiple occasions to destroy Russian assets, mostly in the Black Sea. In August 2023, the brigade was officially established as the first specialized brigade concerned with Unmanned Surface Vehicles in the world, and on August 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the newly created brigade with a combat flag.

In August 2023, the Russians created a barricade near the Crimean Bridge to protect it against Ukrainian USVs, but it was destroyed by USVs in November 2023. On 14 September 2023, two Russian Project 22160 patrol ships were damaged by Ukrainian USVs, and the Russian corvette Samum was also hit by Sea Baby USVs with considerable damage seen in a later video. In October 2023, the Project 22160 patrol ship Pavlo Derzhavin and the tugboat Mykolai Muru were damaged by Sea Baby USV attacks. In December 2023, the Russian demining, reconnaissance and hydrographic ship Volodymyr Kozytskyi was damaged by a Ukrainian Sea Baby USV.

On 1 February 2024, the Main Directorate of Intelligence published a video of the MAGURA V5 attack on the Russian corvette Ivanovets. On February 14, 2024, the large amphibious assault ship Tsezar Kunikov was sunk by Ukrainian MAGURA V5 near Alupka. On March 5, 2024, the large amphibious assault ship Sergey Kotov was sunk by Ukrainian MAGURA V5 near the Kerch Strait. On 6 May 2024, Russia released footage of a Ka-29 using gunfire on a Sea Baby USV of the brigade; the drone was armed with an R-73 infrared missile to defend it from helicopters, and one missile appeared to have been fired before it was destroyed. On 30 May 2024, the Main Directorate of Intelligence confirmed the destruction of two Russian boats of the KC-701 Tuna type with MAGURA V5 strike drones. On June 24, 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine reported that Sea Baby USVs had laid more than 15 naval mines near Crimea, damaging four Russian warships. On 10 August 2024, a MAGURA V5 of the brigade destroyed a Russian KS 701 Tunets high-speed boat near Chornomorske.

Reader's Guide

The 385th Naval Unmanned Surface Vehicles Brigade represents a significant development in naval warfare as the world's first and, as of May 2025, only military unit dedicated exclusively to the operation of naval unmanned surface vehicles. Its establishment in August 2023 formalized a capability that had already demonstrated effectiveness in combat since September 2022. The brigade's operators, drawn primarily from the Main Directorate of Intelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine, have employed USVs to damage or destroy multiple Russian naval assets, including patrol ships, corvettes, amphibious assault ships, and support vessels. Notable successes include the sinking of the large amphibious assault ships Tsezar Kunikov and Sergey Kotov in early 2024. The brigade has also demonstrated innovative tactics, such as arming a Sea Baby USV with an R-73 infrared missile for helicopter defense and using USVs to lay naval mines near Crimea. The brigade's operations have forced Russian forces to create protective barricades, such as near the Crimean Bridge, which were subsequently destroyed. The brigade's legacy lies in proving the viability of dedicated USV units in modern naval combat, potentially influencing future military organization worldwide.

Did You Know?

• The brigade was presented with a combat flag by President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 24, 2023.
• On 14 September 2023, two Russian Project 22160 patrol ships and the corvette Samum were damaged by Ukrainian USVs.
• A Sea Baby USV of the brigade was armed with an R-73 infrared missile to defend against helicopters in May 2024.

Formation & Historic First

The 385th Naval Unmanned Surface Vehicles Brigade was officially established in August 2023, making it the first military unit in the world dedicated exclusively to operating naval unmanned surface vehicles. As of May 2025, it remains the only such unit globally. The brigade sits within the broader Unmanned Systems Forces structure of the Ukrainian Navy, though its operational control is retained by operatives from the Main Directorate of Intelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine. On August 24, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky personally presented the newly formed brigade with its combat flag, a ceremony that underscored the unit's significance. The brigade's creation formalized what had already been a proven capability—Ukrainian USVs had been publicly known since their first combat use in a September 2022 raid on Sevastopol, and by the time of the brigade's founding, these vessels had already struck numerous Russian assets across the Black Sea.

Combat Record & Defining Strikes

The brigade's operational history reads like a catalog of high-value targets struck in the Black Sea. In September 2023, two Russian Project 22160 patrol ships were damaged alongside the corvette Samum, which sustained considerable damage from Sea Baby USVs. That October, the patrol ship Pavlo Derzhavin and the tugboat Mykolai Muru were both hit. December brought the damaging of the demining and hydrographic vessel Volodymyr Kozytskyi. The following year escalated dramatically: in February 2024, the large amphibious assault ship Tsezar Kunikov was sunk near Alupka by a MAGURA V5, and just three weeks later, the Sergey Kotov met the same fate near the Kerch Strait. In November 2023, USVs destroyed a Russian barricade erected near the Crimean Bridge specifically to protect it from such attacks. By June 2024, Sea Baby USVs had laid over fifteen naval mines near Crimea, damaging four Russian warships.

Personnel & Command Structure

What makes the 385th Brigade structurally unusual is who actually runs it. The USV operators are predominantly operatives drawn from the Main Directorate of Intelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine, two of the country's most secretive intelligence agencies. These operatives retain operational control over the brigade as part of the Unmanned Systems Forces command structure. The remaining personnel come from the Ukrainian Navy itself, providing the maritime and logistical backbone. This hybrid arrangement—intelligence professionals at the helm of a naval combat unit—reflects the classified origins of Ukraine's USV program. The fact that HUR published video of the MAGURA V5 attack on the corvette Ivanovets in February 2024, and that the SBU reported on mine-laying operations in June 2024, illustrates how closely the parent agencies remain tied to the brigade's public-facing narrative. The brigade thus functions as a bridge between covert intelligence operations and conventional naval warfare.

Equipment & Tactical Evolution

The brigade operates several distinct types of unmanned surface vehicles, with two platforms standing out in the public record: the Sea Baby and the MAGURA V5. The Sea Baby has been credited with damaging multiple Russian warships, including the corvette Samum and the patrol ship Pavlo Derzhavin, and by June 2024 had laid more than fifteen naval mines near the Crimean coast. The MAGURA V5 proved equally lethal, sinking two large amphibious assault ships in early 2024 and destroying at least two KC-701 Tuna-type boats. Perhaps most striking was a May 2024 engagement in which a Sea Baby USV carried an R-73 infrared-guided missile to defend itself against a Russian Ka-29 helicopter; the drone fired one missile before being shot down by the helicopter's gunfire. This incident revealed that the brigade's USVs were evolving beyond simple strike platforms into multi-role assets capable of anti-air defense, mine-laying, and direct attack.