‘Bridge Killers’: Russia Develops New Floating Combat Drones

The ongoing special military operation has already necessitated the creation of more sophisticated drones, which aim to protect soldiers fighting on the front line better.

The Russian Armed Forces will receive state-of-the-art floating attack drones designed to destroy bridges, pontoon crossings, dams and hydroelectric power stations, the Izvestia newspaper cited sources in the country’s Defense Ministry as saying.

These unmanned vehicles will include kamikaze drones that will be capable of operating on rivers, lakes, coastal marine areas, on the surface and underwater, the sources added.

According to the insiders, some of the drones "are already at a high level of readiness and await tests" before being put into service by Russian engineering troops, while other such vehicles are still being developed.

The so-called "bridge killers" comprise the drones that differ in terms of warhead weight and cruising range, the sources said, adding that the underwater unmanned vehicles are designed to change depth independently.

In an apparent nod to the Russian special military operation, chairman of the Engineering Troops’ military-scientific committee Maxim Krivosheyev earlier told Izvestia that "it is the drones that are now making the main contribution to changing architecture of the battlefield."

He stressed that creating more robotic systems remains one of the main promising areas for the development of engineering equipment for the Russian Army.

Speaking to the Izvestia, Russian military expert Vasily Dandykin, for his part, did not rule out that the floating drones could be effectively used in the Black Sea theater of operations, as well as on the Dnepr River. He described these UAVs as "actually an explosive­­­-laden boat with artificial intelligence."

"They will move forward and destroy the crossings, and we will follow them. Such boats are indispensable during landing operations and those to support ground units. This opens up opportunities for us to capture the coastline and move on," Dandykin concluded.