Ukraine Trains With SeaFox Underwater Drones for the Black Sea Mine-Clearing Mission Ahead

Ukrainian naval crews have practiced locating and destroying sea mines with SeaFox underwater drones during training in the United Kingdom, preparing for the enormous mine-clearing effort that could continue in the Black Sea for years after active fighting ends, BFBS Forces News reported on October 12.

The drills took place under Operation Interflex Maritime, with British mine-warfare specialists evaluating crews from Ukraine’s Sandown-class mine countermeasure vessels. Forces News journalists observed the training aboard the Ukrainian minehunter Cherkasy.

During the exercise, sailors first deployed the reconnaissance version of SeaFox, equipped with a camera and sonar. The remotely operated vehicle searched the seabed and located a training mine roughly the size of a barrel that had been placed by British personnel.

After confirming the target’s position, the crew used a training version of the drone to rehearse the destruction procedure without explosives.

In the final phase, sailors launched the combat SeaFox C, which carries an explosive charge of about 1.5 kilograms. The drone was remotely guided toward the practice mine and detonated alongside it.

SeaFox is a family of remotely operated underwater vehicles developed by Germany’s Atlas Elektronik for detecting, identifying, and neutralizing naval mines.

The system uses sonar and a video camera to inspect underwater objects, while operators control it through a fiber-optic cable.

The vehicle is roughly 1.3 meters long, weighs about 40 kilograms, and can operate at depths of up to 300 meters.

The SeaFox I reconnaissance version is reusable, allowing crews to inspect and classify suspected mines, while the SeaFox C is an expendable system that destroys both itself and the target when its explosive charge detonates.

The training is part of a broader effort to prepare Ukraine’s Navy for postwar Black Sea mine clearance. Russian and Ukrainian mine warfare, drifting mines, and unexploded ordnance have created a threat to commercial shipping and coastal waters that is expected to persist well beyond the end of active hostilities.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Navy earned NATO-certified authority to command multinational mine countermeasure forces for the first time in its history, marking a major step in its operational integration with the Alliance.

Help us understand what you already know

Join United24 audience survey