Analysts think that the launch of the new Toloka TLK-150 means ‘Russia has a new problem in the Black Sea’

By James Kilner 20 May 2023 •

Ukraine will soon unleash a stealthy exploding robotic submarine against the Russian Navy.

The Toloka TLK-150 is the first underwater droneto be designed and built entirely in Ukraine and is the product of a new military-civilian partnership called Brave1.

Brave1 was tight-lipped when asked by The Telegraph about the capabilities of its new weapon but naval analysts said that it represents a major technological upgrade for Ukraine.

“Russia has a new problem in the Black Sea,” said HI Sutton, a naval analyst, who described the Toloka TLK-150 as a “loitering torpedo”.

“This is a natural evolution of Ukraine’s maritime drones.”

Toloka is a word used in Russian and Ukrainian to describe a spontaneous community project designed to promote the common good, the sort of spirit that Ukraine has been tapping into to defend against the Kremlin’s invading armies.

Toloka TLK-150

Unlike the unmanned surface vehicles that Ukraine has previously used to harass the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, the Toloka TLK-150 glides along under the surface of the water, making it harder to spot and intercept.

At just over 8ft long, it is shaped like a torpedo – sleek and slim, with a tall navigator’s periscope, a large keel and two electronic thrusters attached to a pair of stabilisers. It also carries an explosive payload, details of which have not been revealed.

Mr Sutton said that Ukraine was now at the cutting edge of naval drone development and that, although the Toloka TLK-150 may have a shorter range and be slower than surface maritime drones, it could still give Ukraine’s navy the edge over Russia.

“Being an underwater vehicle it is less prone to detection and harder to neutralise with gunfire,” he said. “Its warhead is also impacting below the waterline so may be more likely to sink its target.”

Brave1 has not said when the Toloka TLK-150 will enter service but it is expected to be within the next few weeks or months.

Brave1 has plans to develop two more Toloka-class submarine drones, up to five times larger, if the Toloka TLK-150 proves a success. Reports have said that Britain has given Ukraine six submarine drones for mine clearance but not for attacking Russian warships and submarines in port.

A reputation for innovation

The Ukrainian military has earned a reputation for innovation, particularly in the use of drones on the battlefield.

Not only has Ukraine been supplied with increasingly sophisticated Western technology, like Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missiles, but it has also been deploying and developing homemade weapons and drones.

The Russian Navy was expected to dominate the Black Sea virtually unopposed but the Ukrainian military has sunk the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet with a domestically produced missile.

Ukrainian drone attacks on warships at anchor in occupied Crimea have forced some of the fleet to pull back to Novorossiysk, which is 210 miles away on the coast of mainland Russia.

Constant threat from drones

Samuel Bendett, an expert on drones at the Center for Naval Analysis in the US, said that the constant threat from drones is already forcing Russian commanders to commit vital resources to guard their fleet, even before the Toloka TLK-150 submarine drone is launched.

“Russia claims to have a multilayered drone defence in Crimea, with nets, buoys, planes, helicopters, ship-based and shore-based batteries,” he said. “This is a lot of resources dedicated to catching a small and relatively inexpensive surface vessel.”

Russian forces have also used drones extensively on battlefields across Ukraine, including the Iranian kamikaze drones used to attack cities, but they have been far slower at deploying naval drones, although a Russian maritime drone did hit a railway bridge linking Odesa to Romania in February.