The technology will likely prove pivotal in a region dominated by major sea powers. 

 

Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Brigadier General Valerii Churkin, asserted at DSEI Japan 2025 that "sea drones" are a crucial technological innovation for any conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

He cited Ukraine’s success in effectively countering and pushing back Russia’s Black Sea fleet, despite not having its own fleet, as an example of the technological prowess and operational effectiveness of the sea drone.

Ukraine’s first Defense Attaché, Colonel Andrii Bilenkyi, similarly reiterated the importance of sea drones in the Indo-Pacific theatre during the event.

Ukraine has been effectively deploying a range of ‘sea drones’, often referred to as uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. These include the Magura V5 – intended as a surveillance, countermeasure, and combat platform – and the Sea Baby kamikaze USV.

Magura in particular has achieved a number of firsts for USVs recently, having successfully destroyed a Russian helicopter and fighter aircraft in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

It has also served as a mobile launch platform, where it delivered a number of first-person view (FPV) drones 500km deep into Russian territory a few months ago, the attaché highlighted. The USV then acted as a relay, enabling the drones to fly an additional 5km to destroy a Russian air defence system.

USVs are likely to be pivotal in a region surrounded by major sea powers, such as Australia, China, India and Japan. Approximately 60% of global shopping also passes through the region.

Considering this, the next major conflict in this region “will start in the maritime domain”, Jonathan Cham, a policy analyst specialising on security in the region stated at the event. He referenced key geopolitical hotspots such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as evidence of this.

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Olivia Savage, Editor in Chief of Clarion Defence & Security