The Ukrainian company Depthon Systems, in collaboration with American partners, developed the SeaHive 5.0 unmanned surface vehicle (USV), which was presented abroad for the first time at an open static display. The USV is a fully autonomous surface platform designed for long-range maritime strike operations
As explained to EDR On-Line at the company’s booth, the SeaHive 5.0 USV is capable of delivering a swarm of FPV-drones to a designated maritime area for strikes or long-range reconnaissance. This is achieved through the vehicle’s design, which includes six hexagonal launch containers with hinged top covers mounted on its upper hull. Five containers accommodate strike FPV-drones, and one contains a relay drone, enabling over-the-horizon operations using the USV at ranges of up to 300 nautical miles (555 km).
The USV’s stealthy hull is made of carbon fibre and features a small radar cross-section (RCS) from the front, rear, and sides.
The SeaHive 5.0 USV is 5 metres long, has a 72 hours endurance, a range of 300 NM (555 km) at 22 knots cruise speed, maximum speed being 40 knots. It can afford Sea State 4, and carries a 250 kg payload.
The USV’s navigation is provided by a hybrid system with jamming-resistant guidance logic based on programmed waypoints. It includes an inertial navigation system (INS), corrected using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals, and an encrypted mesh-capable C2 data link. The aft section of the vehicle houses a Starlink SATCOM antenna and an optoelectronic camera with daylight and thermal imaging channels.
The SeaHive 5.0’s primary payload consists of Hurtang-10 FPV strike drones with a 2-3 kg warhead, a range of up to 40 km, and a speed of 140 km/h. A heavy relay drone increases the communication link’s range and can remain airborne for 45 minutes during a swarm strike operation by FPV-drones.
At the exhibition, the SeaHive 5.0 was demonstrated with a Hellcat reconnaissance drone in its forward launch container. This drone is based on the proven Black Widow platform and features a three-camera EO/IR payload for expanded tactical awareness. The drone has a 1.93 kg mass, a flight time of over 50 minutes, a maximum altitude of over 1,200 metres, a flight speed of 18 m/s, and a range of 11 km.
EDR On-Line understood that the development of the SeaHive 5.0 USV is fully consistent with the established global shipbuilding trend of developing unmanned naval vessels for asymmetric warfare at sea. The recent addition of various types of multipurpose USVs to the Ukrainian Navy represents an innovative approach to countering large enemy naval forces with limited resources. The SeaHive 5.0 USV can perform combat missions both independently and as part of tactical unmanned naval groups, including kamikaze strike USVs and air defence cover USVs.
Photos by N. Novichkov
