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- The "fierce" dive: how the warhead of a Ukrainian drone was neutralized in the port of Makhachkala
The "fierce" dive: how the warhead of a Ukrainian drone was neutralized in the port of Makhachkala
A unique mine clearance operation of a downed Ukrainian drone took place in the port of Makhachkala. The divers recovered and then destroyed a powerful combat unit of the Ukrainian UAV "Fierce", "Izvestia" managed to find out. The device was lying at the bottom of the harbor bay, threatening civilian shipping and port facilities. Underwater work was complicated by extremely low visibility and the fact that the ammunition was fully operational and could detonate at any moment. Such operations are extremely rare, and the success of divers and sappers depends on many factors, experts say.
"Fierce" underwater
A long-range drone "Fierce", shot down by our military, sank in a harbor on a shipping route. Its warhead posed a serious threat not only to ships, but also to the entire port infrastructure.
After preliminary reconnaissance using autonomous underwater vehicles, it became clear that the drone was seriously damaged and the operation to neutralize its warhead would not be easy.
JSC "Network Company" was involved in the work, which is engaged, among other things, in anti-sabotage checks of ships entering Russian ports after staying in foreign waters. The company's divers were assigned to perform the most difficult part of the underwater work.
Specialists from "Shield and Sword", a company engaged in humanitarian demining in Donbas, were also involved for consultations. Military personnel and special services personnel participated in the operation to raise an explosive object.
""After a thorough inspection of the facility and a number of consultations, we have developed a joint action plan for lifting the drone," Alexey Malyshev, General Director of Network Company JSC, told Izvestia."
Underwater explosion
""The explosion of the warhead of the drone posed a great danger," Vyacheslav Kovalevsky, executive director of the private Shield and Sword sapper company, told Izvestia."
According to him, the mass of the "Fierce" warhead with special damaging elements can reach 75 kg. According to the expert, about 50 kg may be an explosive substance.
When a munition is detonated underwater, the shock wave can spread over a much longer distance than when detonated in the air, Vyacheslav Kovalevsky explained. According to his assessment, in this case, the radius of damage could reach 1 km. In addition, flying fragments would be dangerous above the surface of the water.
This type of munition was capable of hitting and flooding a vessel with a displacement of up to 10 thousand tons, as well as destroying buildings, destroying tanks with fuel and lubricants, and causing significant damage to the port infrastructure.
— The underwater sappers had no right to make mistakes. The diving team involved in lifting the ammunition would inevitably have died in the explosion," Vyacheslav Kovalevsky explained.
He noted that such operations are extremely rare. And each of them is unique in its own way: it depends on the port infrastructure, the type of products being neutralized, the condition of the bottom of the bay, weather conditions and many other factors.
Search and destroy
The navy set up a signal buoy at the drone's location and took the necessary security measures, after which specialists began underwater work.
To lift the ammunition, a team of three people was formed — a leader, a diver and a boatmaster. They had to lift and deliver the dangerous find to the shore for destruction.
"There was about an hour and a half left before sunset, and ideally we had to find, lift and deliver a combat unit to the shore during this time," Daniil Akimov, head of the underwater mine clearance group, told Izvestia.
The drone was lying at a depth of about 6 m, but the conditions for working underwater were extreme. The vessels that left the harbor during the mine clearance lifted the silt from the bottom, and visibility dropped to 10-20 cm, diver Evgeny Moskaev, who lifted the warhead, told "Izvestia".
— I was actually looking for the object by touch, it took 45 minutes, — he explained.
During the inspection, it turned out that the explosive object would have to be lifted not with the help of a guided underwater vehicle, as planned, but with the participation of a diver. Evgeny hooked the warhead and attached it to a special air parachute, which was then supplied with air. This device, by increasing buoyancy, lifted the deadly cargo to the surface.
After that, the dangerous object was attached to a special cable suspended above the water and, like a cable car, the ammunition was delivered to land.
The most dangerous part of the work has been completed. Evgeny Maskaev recalls that, once on the shore, the first thing he did was ask the guys who met him if he was still in this world or already in that.
"Doubts have arisen,— the diver smiles. — I knew that I wouldn't feel any pain during the explosion, so I asked to find out exactly where I was.
On the shore, the combat unit was received by a special ground robot, which carefully delivered it to a specially prepared pit. The warhead was blown up there without damaging the port infrastructure.
— The explosion was so powerful that my phone, which I had installed 400 m from the explosion site for filming, fell, — says Daniil Akimov.
During the operation, a high level of cooperation between all law enforcement agencies was demonstrated — all issues were resolved promptly and without delay, said Alexey Malyshev. He also noted the professionalism of the group that was involved in the evacuation of the drone.
Anti-diversion port security
Special attention is being paid to the security of seaports. In particular, last summer, an inspection of the underwater part of ships coming from abroad for explosive devices and suspicious objects was introduced. Such control measures began after the release of the decree of the President of Russia. "Izvestia" wrote that it appeared after a number of incidents with civil courts with signs of external interference, which were recorded in 2025.
In May 2026, a terrorist attack was prevented on the "Arrhenius" gas carrier, which arrived from the Belgian port of Antwerp in the Leningrad region, the FSB of Russia reported. Divers found foreign objects attached to the bottom of the vessel on the underwater part of the hull. It was later established that these were explosive devices made according to the type of marine magnetic mines, presumably from one of the NATO countries.
Such inspections are carried out not only by swimmers of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Rosgvardiya and other law enforcement agencies, but also by private companies. Their role in ensuring the safety of navigation, as the incident in Makhachkala shows, is constantly growing.
According to Alexey Malyshev, the employees of the "Network Company" are additionally trained at the International Mine Action Center. In the internal courses of the organization, they study the design of the vessel in order to know where and what can be installed. During the training, mock-ups of mines are installed, which specialists must detect. The company's specialists have experience working in the seas of all four oceans.
On average, it takes from 30 minutes to an hour to inspect one vessel. The company's employees have already inspected more than 300 vessels in different seas and have gained a lot of experience, Alexey Malyshev said. He also wished all his colleagues good luck and safe dives.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
