The Sea Baby (Ukrainian: Морський малюк, romanized: Mors'kyi malyuk) is a multipurpose unmanned surface vehicle (USV) developed for use by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) during the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022 to present). It is able to carry an explosive payload for use in self-destruct attacks, or equipped for more specialised uses, for instance to strike static targets such as ships docked in ports, or to lay mines. Early models of the Sea Baby were designed in July 2022. Models from late 2023 used redundant communications systems and carried explosive warheads up to 850 kilograms (1,870 lb). It was inducted into the 385th USV Brigade in August 2023. In January 2024 the SBU revealed a version of the Sea Baby equipped with thermobaric launchers. In July 2023, two Sea Baby USVs struck the Crimean Bridge. Other attacks by Sea Baby USVs include a claimed strike on the corvette Samum in September 2023, damage to the Pavel Derzhavin the following month, a strike on the Vladimir Kozitsky in December 2023, and an attack on Crimea in December 2024. On 28 November 2025, Sea Baby USVs were used to attack Russian shadow fleet ships in the Black Sea. In December 2025, the SBU claimed a Kilo-class submarine in the Port of Novorossiysk was struck by an unmanned underwater vehicle dubbed the Sub Sea Baby.
Background One of the first examples of an attack by an unmanned boat happened in 2020, when a Saudi frigate was bombed by the Houthi rebels using a surface craft loaded with explosives. Before the end of the first year of the Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present), the Ukrainian military was conducting surprise attacks upon the Russian Black Sea Fleet using USVs. The Russo-Ukrainian war has been described by scholars as the first "drone war", due to the large scale and high intensity of attacks by drones, and the role of this experience in changing the tactics of modern conventional warfare. Ukraine became the first country to create a military branch exclusively dedicated to drone warfare—the Unmanned Systems Forces—in June 2024, with Russia following soon with its own Unmanned Systems Forces in November 2025. The war has demonstrated how drones have disrupted traditional military doctrines in a manner similar to how gunpowder revolutionized warfare, making them a "decisive" factor in all future conflicts.
Development The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) brigadier general Ivan V. Lukashevych proposed the idea of the agency operating unmanned surface vehicles (or USVs). Early USV models were designed in July 2022 in collaboration with specialists from the Ukrainian Navy and assorted private companies. Later, the SBU decided to develop drones independently, culminating in the Sea Baby design for their own use. What eventually became the MAGURA V5 was later operated by the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR). While the GUR's smaller and more manoeuvrable MAGURA V5 is used designed primarily for striking warships out at sea, the SBU developed the Sea Baby with a payload designed primarily to strike static targets such as ships docked in port. Models of the Sea Baby from late 2023 used several redundant communications systems and carried explosive warheads up to 850 kilograms (1,870 lb), compared to the 108 kilograms (238 lb) payloads of earlier models. Multiple redundant communications systems were used to avoid repeating an incident wherein Starlink-dependent USVs were left stranded during a mission to strike the Russian frigate Admiral Makarov docked at Sevastopol, after connectivity to Starlink in Crimea was declined by the businessman Elon Musk. By the end of year, the Sea Baby had transformed from a self-destroying attack vehicle to a multipurpose platform capable of carrying different loadouts for various tasks, with examples including guided missile launchers and laser guidance systems. In January 2024 the SBU revealed a version of the Sea Baby equipped with six thermobaric launchers based on the RPV-16 design.
Operational history
USV attacks
The MAGURA V5 and Sea Baby were inducted into the 385th USV Brigade after its formation as the world's first USV unit in August 2023, although their operatives were still GUR and SBU. On 17 July 2023, two Sea Baby USVs struck the Crimean Bridge, causing damage to the abutment and bridge span. The bridge sustained partial damage that temporarily restricted the use of the road section. Following the attack, the SBU showed the device that was used, and revealed its name. In an interview with CNN, Vasyl Malyuk, the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, stated: "Marine surface drones are a unique development of the Security Service of Ukraine. No private company was involved in this. With the help of these drones, we recently successfully destroyed the Crimean bridge, the large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak and the tanker SIG." On 14 September the SBU claimed that it struck Russian corvette Samum using a Sea Baby; a video showed the ship visibly listing as it was being towed, as had been the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak after being struck by a Sea Baby off the coast of Novorossiysk. In October, the Russian patrol ship Pavel Derzhavin was damaged by a Sea Baby attack. Later in December, the reconnaissance and hydrographic ship Vladimir Kozitsky was struck by a Sea Baby. On 6 May 2024, Russia released footage of a Ka-29 helicopter using gunfire on a Sea Baby that was armed with an R-73 infrared missile to defend it from such an attack. One missile appeared to have been fired before it was destroyed by gunfire. In December, Ukraine revealed that Sea Baby USVs modified with mounted machine guns had been used in an attack on Crimea. Video footage revealed the Sea Baby using these guns on Russian patrol boats and armed Mi-8 helicopters. The SBU claimed that the Sea Baby USVs were able to damage several helicopters and boats.
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