The germs of a beginning of agreement may have been found by the United States with Russia and Ukraine for a cessation of hostilities in the Black Sea and this possible truce would be a first since the start of the large-scale invasion of the Ukrainian territory in February 2022. But the discussions are slowed down by the conditions imposed by the Russian camp and they do not prevent kyiv from continuing the sophistication and the expansion of Military arsenal, especially in terms of maritime drones. Ukraine has deployed a new type of drone boat equipped with torpedoes, named Katran (literally the “shark”), the maximum range of which is 1,000 kilometers. Enough to establish its superiority a little more in the waters of the Black Sea.
Mykhaïlo Fedorov, Ukrainian Minister responsible for digital transformation, announced the news on his Telegram canal, reports the American magazine Forbes. The Katran (also known as Katran Venom) is a versatile surface naval drone capable of carrying out attacks against opposing ships and carrying out recognition missions. Equipped with two hydrojets, it can reach a speed of around 130 km/h. Its communication is carried out through a secure satellite link and its extended autonomy allows it to operate in radio.
An upheaval of the naval war
Katran would also have its own electronic war system, probably designed to detect Russian subjective drones (FPV), previously used against other devices. It also has enlightening rockets and smoke launchers. A complete and ultra -perfected device that completes an already well -expanded arsenal.
Destroys Targets at Sea, on land and in the air: Fedorov Showed Ukrainian Secret Drone “Katran”
It is equipped with Torpedoes, at Minigun, A Machine Gun, Manpads and Other Weapons. The Katran can freely cover distances of more than 1,000 km. pic.twitter.com/prfyph65rr– GeopoliticStuday (@spotlightneedy) March 26, 2025
Surface naval drones are already used by the Ukrainian army, which has developed fifteen since February 2022. But this time, the Katran is without possible comparison. Its versatility, its equipment and its speed may pose serious problems with the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, already heavily weakened since the sinking of the Admiral ship Moskva in April 2022.
Concretely, what could be the implications on the maritime battlefield? The presence of Katran considerably complicates the Russian response, whether air or naval. Ukraine, in addition to betting on a hybrid drone fleet, can now combine cheap maritime-maritime drones-kamikazes loaded with explosives with more sophisticated vehicles equipped with machine guns. kyiv can also deploy other more imposing models that play the role of small aircraft carriers of air drones. The addition of the Katran to this arsenal is clearly not good news for Russia and offers an additional asset to Ukraine at the negotiation table.
While a warship theoretically takes years to emerge, the fleet of Ukrainian naval drones extends and perfected quickly. Its evolution far exceeds that of the countermeasures put in place, to the point of reshaping the balance of forces at sea, upsetting the naval war as a whole.
