The Ukrainian TB-2 drone resurfaced as soon as once more after being almost absent from the battlefield, hanging what’s believed to be Unmanned Floor Vessels.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet misplaced two small boats, believed to be Unmanned Floor Vessels (USV), following aerial strikes captured in footage launched by the Ukrainian Navy on Jun. 24, 2026. Protection observers and battle trackers imagine the Unmanned Fight Aerial Automobile (UCAV) system employed by the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was the Bayraktar TB-2.
The Turkish-made Medium-Altitude Medium Endurance (MAME)-class surveillance-strike drone, that Ankara provided to Kyiv previous to the battle, retains rising sporadically after almost disappearing from the battlefield within the first few months of the battle in 2022. The remotely piloted plane was fully withdrawn from use after massive numbers have been reportedly misplaced to Russian digital warfare.
The potential of the RPA within the new video being the TB-2 is probably going, for the reason that final time it surfaced after a protracted hiatus in September 2025 was once more within the Black Sea area. That point, the drone had hit Russian boats and troops alongside the coast.
Equally to the newest incidence, analysts had concluded the system to be the TB-2, primarily based on the distinctive interface and symbology from the electro-optical (EO) sensor’s video feed. The Ukrainian navy didn’t formally establish the drone used on each events.
Bayraktar lives! The Ukrainian Navy has launched footage displaying the destruction of a Russian unmanned floor vessel by a drone whose interface seems like that utilized by the Bayraktar TB2.
In keeping with the Navy, a complete of three Russian unmanned floor vessels have been destroyed in… pic.twitter.com/GuVOyaxhrR
— Particular Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 24, 2026
What the video exhibits
The infrared footage exhibits two boats being focused, with the outlines of what might be two sensor masts or two personnel on one among them, and the laser illumination additionally seen on the primary one. The second boat, which was not struck, additionally has an outboard motor.
The 2 vessels are believed to be USVs, though that was not verified. As a substitute, they may probably be rubber dinghies or speedboats.
This may nevertheless increase the query why Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) commanders would mount a extremely dangerous and largely pointless manned operation in closely contested waters in the course of the Black Sea. On the similar time, there are scanty stories of Russia utilizing its USVs within the Black Sea.
The munition used within the newest strike might have been the laser guided MAM-series of air-to-ground guided bombs developed by Roketsan. Ukrainian media mentioned the navy has used these up to now from the TB-2 within the opening months of the battle.
The scenario within the Black Sea largely stays in Ukraine’s favor, with Russia nonetheless at an total uneven drawback utilizing massive patrol vessels, gun boats and naval utility helicopters just like the Kamov Ka-27 to blow Ukrainian USVs out of the water. Ukraine’s main Magura V5 and V7 USVs armed with repurposed air-to-air missiles have additionally shot down Mi-8 helicopters and Su-30SM fighters.
Occasionally, the Maguras and different U.S-made USVs hold going astray and find yourself being beached. The newest such incident involving a Magura V3 was reported in Might within the Greek coastal area of Lefkada. Ukraine has additionally fielded a brand new USV known as Barracuda.
A Ukrainian Magura V3 one-way assault unmanned floor vessel (USV) was found off the coast of Lefkada in Greece.
The USV was discovered by fishermen in a cave on the Ionian island of Lefkada late on Thursday. In keeping with stories, it could have been carrying explosives on the… pic.twitter.com/ODMQGkVv3n
— Standing-6 (Conflict & Navy Information) (@Archer83Able) Might 8, 2026
The teachings discovered from the Ukrainian expertise have additionally led the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Floor Vessel Squadron 3 (USVRON-3) to include uncrewed maritime methods in massive multinational workouts and even operationally. In truth, drone boats have been used to rescue downed pilots close to the Strait of Hormuz.
Footage of a Ukrainian unmanned floor vessel getting blown out of the water within the Black Sea. pic.twitter.com/ROscrwbTMV
— Blackrussian (@Blackrussiantv) June 24, 2026
❗️The unmanned floor system “Barracuda” of the 🇺🇦fortieth Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy is now getting used not solely on rivers, but in addition within the bay close to the Kinburn Spit. Along with FPV drones, it might probably launch heavy bomber copters. pic.twitter.com/dyH8NWKJQD
— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian) June 14, 2026
Earlier TB2 employments
The Sep. 3, 2025 video launched by the Ukrainian navy confirmed the strike of a Russian speedboat beached on the coast in Kherson, with at the least two injured personnel being offloaded from the vessel and two others evacuating them. The footage from the TB2 then additionally exhibits strikes on small encampments alongside the shoreline, injuring one other soldier.
Ukrainian Navy Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs destroyed a Russian Black Sea Fleet speedboat close to Tendra Spit, Kherson area. pic.twitter.com/QjAOS56OlI
— Conflict Report (@clashreport) September 3, 2025
Just a few weeks previous to that, Ukraine launched a video of a TB2 strike on one other small Russian boat, this time close to Zaliznyi Port within the Kherson area. In June 2025, the Ukrainian Navy publicized a video of a TB-2 assault on a Russian touchdown craft on Kherson’s west coast.
Unconventional strikes utilizing uncrewed methods are usually overseen by Ukraine’s Protection Intelligence Directorate (GUR). Within the opening months of the battle, Ukraine had misplaced at the least 26 TB-2s, in keeping with the Oryx open-source monitoring discussion board.
Video from the Ukrainian Navy of a TB2 UCAV strike on a Russian touchdown craft on the west coast of Kherson oblast. pic.twitter.com/Ux3MKcKNX7
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 24, 2025
United24 attributed the losses to enhanced Russian digital warfare measures that nullified the TB-2 menace early on. “Russia started adapting to the TB2 menace,” mentioned the publication. “Improved digital warfare and layered air protection methods made it more and more tough for big, gradual drones to function safely. Ukrainian officers acknowledged that TB2s had turn into extremely weak to Russian methods like Pantsir-S1, Buk, and Tor.”
