[REVISION HISTORY]

Russian Navy drone and anti‑drone modernization

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2026-08-07 08:36 UTC → 2026-08-13 03:01 UTC · added ~~removed~~

In late July 2026 the Russian Navy announced two linked upgrades to its maritime capabilities. On 26 July it unveiled the Northern Fleet’s first naval drone regiment, intended to operate unmanned aerial systems in the Arctic and support Russia’s claim to the Northern Sea Route. At the same time, the navy detailed the fielding of two ship‑borne air‑defence suites – Poliment‑Redut, a vertical‑launch missile system with a 130 km reach, and a naval variant of the Pantsir‑ME system – both tested against drones and Western‑supplied missiles. Two days later, on 28 July, the navy reported the installation of anti‑UAV/USV nets, floating buoy barriers and deck‑mounted machine guns on Project 636.3 “Varshavyanka” submarines based in the Baltic, with similar kits fitted to other classes. The nets can be detached before a dive, adding protection against Ukrainian drone attacks. In the same briefing, the defence plant Arsenal introduced a self‑propelled 130 mm A‑192M artillery system for coastal defence, slated for deployment on vessels such as the Project 22350 “Admiral Gorshkov” class. By early August, satellite imagery released by British intelligence showed that three of the four Kilo‑class submarines of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had been fitted with protective cages over their command towers, a preventive measure against increasingly capable Ukrainian drone strikes. The same period saw Russian drone attacks in the Black Sea that damaged German commercial assets, including warehouses of Liqui Moly and Puma in Ukraine and the German‑flagged cargo ship Emil near Odessa, which suffered fire and crew evacuation. A second cargo vessel, the Mera Quin, was also hit, resulting in one fatality. Russia’s Ministry of Defence confirmed attacks on two cargo ships, alleging they were transporting military equipment for Ukraine.

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