# The first drone boat duel just happened

> Ukraine says one of its uncrewed boats gunned down a Russian drone boat in the Black Sea, a first for naval warfare.
- Title: The first drone boat duel just happened · TechRadar | Shortify
- Summary: Ukraine says one of its uncrewed boats gunned down a Russian drone boat in the Black Sea, a first for naval warfare. Sea drones have started shooting at each…
- Keywords: naval drones, ukraine, black sea, autonomous weapons, military tech, technology, first, drone, boat, duel, just, happened
- Source: TechRadar — https://techradar.com/pro/first-ever-battle-between-two-autonomous-naval-drones-won-by-ukraine-thanks-to-a-salvo-from-a-remote-weapon-turret
- Published: 2026-09-15T19:25:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: naval drones, ukraine, black sea, autonomous weapons, military tech, technology
## Robot boats opened fire
An uncrewed Ukrainian vessel destroyed a Russian drone boat in the Black Sea. No human was aboard either craft, which makes it the first known fight of its kind.

> the first military exchange of its kind
## Nobody has confirmed it yet
Ukraine has not given a date, time, or location. Russia has not said whether it lost a boat, or that the encounter happened at all.
## Meet the Sargan-3000
Ukraine put it into service in April 2026 as a multi-purpose platform, meaning it swaps in mission modules for weapons or sensors. Its size and speed are still unknown.

> highly maneuverable
## A turret, not a warhead
The Sargan-3000 carries a Protector remote weapon station. In this fight it used a 12.7mm machine gun, possibly an M2 Browning or an NSV, fired by an operator far away.
## A fleet with three owners
The navy runs the Sargan-3000. The security service runs Sea Baby, a 6m boat with 1,000km range and an 850kg payload. Defence Intelligence runs the smaller Magura V5.
## Intelligence picked the target
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate identified the Russian vessel and cleared the navy's uncrewed craft to engage. The kill chain still runs through people.
## Part of a bigger squeeze
In July 2026 a similar Ukrainian boat sank the patrol ship PSKR Izumrud off Gelendzhik. 105 Russian vessels have been attacked in the Sea of Azov this year.
## Key takeaway

Sea drones have started shooting at each other, and the winner was the one carrying a remote machine gun turret instead of a warhead.