"Now the only anti-submarine warfare option against Russia is underwater drones" - Andrii Ryzhenko

He shared the details with Espreso TV. 

"We still have an unsolved task - this is anti-submarine warfare. And now the only option for finding and destroying an enemy submarine, as I see it, is underwater drones. Because it is hundreds of times cheaper than the construction of submarines, and here it should be noted that bases are needed for boats, crews are much more trained, and their maintenance is required. And maintenance is also a large amount. There are such drones, they are manufactured in Europe, Asia, for example there are companies in Korea, Italy, and Romania. The market is semi-closed, but I think that if necessary, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will have access to it," Andrii Ryzhenko said.

An expert of the Center for Defense Strategies says that the use of underwater and surface drones is an ideal solution at this stage of the war with Russia, because they are not inferior to boats in efficiency, and are much cheaper.

"Surface drones are widely used for mine action. I think this is an ideal option for us, so if you combine the Danube Delta with Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea, then all that will be in the North is depths up to 50 meters, this is such a Klondike for mine warfare. There are so many mines now, and in order to neutralize them, a lot of these means will be needed. Some systems worth USD 50-100 million, and drones that can do almost the same, but not so far (far and not necessary), cost several orders of magnitude less. And such systems are also on the market. That is, there is no need to focus on the platform," he said.

Andrii Ryzhenko believes that it is necessary to pay attention to the resources  that the country has. After Ukraine manages to cover the immediate area from the enemy, it is possible to start talking about building up its own platforms with boats, but for now it should limit itself to a completely reasonable option in the form of underwater and surface unmanned systems.

"We must not forget that, unfortunately, we do not have a basing system, as all the bases were in Crimea. And in 8 years we have not built anything, we started, but we know that we have not built it. And for submarines and such large ships as Ochakiv, the base point is not suitable. We see that he is now constantly under fire. The task is to find capabilities for the initial position of defense construction and they must correspond to the resources that are available. And based on that, I can say that drones are a very good option for us at this stage. They will allow us to complete all the tasks, including neutralizing the enemy's forces in the Crimea region," Andrii Ryzhenko said.