According to the footage, the Marichka is a black-colored unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) with a length of 6 meters and a range of about 1000 kilometers. It can perform attack, transport or reconnaissance missions.
The payload capacity and other technical details of the drone are yet to be known.
According to Ukrainian media, the Marichka is a self-developed system made by volunteer engineers (so called AMMO UKRAINE) with donations. The media platforms claim that the estimated cost of the UUV is about UAH 16 million, which is equivalent to $433,000.
After gaining initial operational capability, Marichka is expected to be used in suicide operations against the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) assets, as well as critical Russian infrastructures and establishments.
Here is a video animation prepared by AMMO UKRAINE showing the fundamental specifications and introduction of the Marichka.
Author’s comments:
Ukraine has ushered in a new era of naval warfare with the deployment of kamikaze surface drones against Russian warships in the Black Sea. The first attack in the fall of 2022 was a shock to the Russian BSF. After the first attack, Ukraine increased the range of kamikaze USVs and attacked the critical bases. Russia has developed some measures against kamikaze USVs, such as improved reconnaissance and hard-kill measures, but the recent attacks on the Russian landing ship and logistics tanker proved that the measures are not sufficient to ensure the security of Russian assets.
Underwater drones are even more dangerous to Russian BSF assets because they cannot be detected by the Russian surveillance system. While it is not known how much explosive Marichka can deliver to the target, given the size of the drone, it can be assumed that it has a significant amount of explosives on board.
Moreover, Marichka will hit the ships on the underwater part, which can be even more destructive for the warships. A swarm of these suicide UUVs is very hard to defend. It is expected that the effectiveness of Marichka will be tested in the near future as the war continues.
