Very few combat platforms involved in the Ukraine war have escaped losses. The Russian Be-12 "Chaika" amphibious aircraft was one of them, at least until Sunday, when Ukrainian forces said they destroyed two of the planes in a historic first. Ukraine's intelligence directorate (HUR) said on Monday that two Russian Be‑12 aircraft, which Russia is said to use to patrol and hunt Ukrainian naval drones, were destroyed in a Sunday attack by its special "Ghosts" unit in occupied Crimea.
As the tech war moves forward amid fighting in Ukraine, Russia's Black Sea Fleet is testing new jamming-resistant naval drones guided by fiber-optic cables. State media outlet TASS reported that the fleet received uncrewed vessels for trials, with combat testing scheduled for September. Both Russia and Ukraine have been experimenting with naval drones and drones with fiber-optic controls, which are immune to electronic warfare tactics. The two sides are racing to expand their fleets of uncrewed systems and blunt each other's innovations.