June 4, 2026: Last month, in the Philippines, SOCOM/Special Operations Command operators used an American-made naval drone against a decommissioned commercial vessel. The U.S. 1st Special Forces Group has been active in the northernmost islands of the Philippines. The Batanes islands are the northernmost Filipino province 162 kilometers north of Luzon Island and 190 kilometers south of Taiwan.

Because of this proximity to a potential warzone, American and Filipino forces are increasingly training in this area. The Philippines is also developing plans for handling an influx of Taiwanese refugees if China does attack

The American and Filipino forces are using Ukrainian drone designs like the Magura and the American ANAFI USA drone, which is made with American components for the American military. The drone is dust and rain-resistant and carries day and infrared and visible cameras. Weighing only 1.8 kg, the drone can remain airborne for 30 minutes.

The aggressive and successful use of Ukrainian drones against the Russian Black Sea fleet was unprecedented in the history of naval warfare. Not only were these drones tactically successful but financially as well. For example, new frigates cost about $1.5 billion each. That much money can also pay for 5,000 drones. Destroyers cost twice as much as frigates. The frigates and destroyers are high seas ships that can travel all over the world. The drones operate in coastal waters although some of the larger drones can operate up to a thousand kilometers from where they were launched. These drones carry video cameras and satellite-based communications systems to collect information and, in peacetime, do so without fear of attack. Severe storms are another matter, but any storm damage will be broadcast as it is happening, at least until the video cameras or communications equipment is disabled.

Commercial cargo ships can carry hundreds of armed drones equipped with satellite communications so operators anywhere in the world can control them. These drones can be launched at sea and sent to carry out attacks on targets in the area or move to a nearby harbor and remain tied to a dock until needed. The only maintenance is keeping the drone batteries charged. These drones are a radical new weapon for naval warfare and the war at sea will never be the same because of the success of Ukrainian drones in their victorious campaign against the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Initially the Ukrainian water-going drones were Sea Baby, Mother, and MAGURA. At the end of 2023 Cossack Mother, top speed of 100 kilometers an hour, entered service. Manufacture of these drones is done in underground facilities to avoid Russian missile and guided bomb attacks.

Sea Baby carrying 850 kg of explosives was used in the mid-2023 Kerch Bridge attack. MAGURA carries 320 kg of explosives while Mamai carries 450 kg. These drones are no longer used just for delivering explosives against a target, they can also be used for reconnaissance when equipped with video cameras that broadcast what they see back to the drone operator. Some drones have been armed with small rocket launchers or surface-to-air missiles and have shot down Russian fighter-bombers and helicopters. Malyuk has a range of over 700 kilometers, which means they are suitable for operations on the high seas. Endurance is about 60 hours, and top speed is over 70 kilometers an hour. MAGURA has similar characteristics. Mamai was used in a long-range attack at the distant naval base at Novorossiysk on Russia’s Black Sea eastern coast, which is a thousand kilometers from Crimea.

Ukraine has been developing subsurface drones since 2022 and in early 2023 the first one, the Toloka2 TK-150 entered service. This drone was 2.5 meters long and equipped with a sensor mast that remained above the surface for navigation and to identify targets. Toloka2 can also carry a small explosive warhead. More recently, Ukraine developed the larger Marichka drone that is 6 meters long and one meter in diameter. Ukraine builds 96 percent of its drones in Ukrainian factories. The other four percent are sent by NATO countries.