Concern in the Hellenic Armed Forces over the armed drone boat in Lefkada – Why it was found loaded with explosives inside a cave

The find of a marine drone successful the Lefkada area by fishermen has caused interest wrong the ranks of the Hellenic Armed Forces, arsenic diplomatic sources connect large value to the incident, some due to the fact that of its timing and its imaginable operational objectives.

As of yesterday, the Armed Forces officially undertook the probe into the root and method characteristics of the unmanned aboveground vas (USV), which was recovered successful a oversea cave adjacent Cape Doukato, astatine the southwestern extremity of Lefkada, and is believed to beryllium of Ukrainian origin.

The cave and the imaginable scenarios

The information that the marine drone was recovered wrong a cave has heightened interest among Armed Forces personnel, arsenic it strengthens the script that it had been hidden determination for aboriginal use, efficaciously ruling retired the anticipation that it ended up successful the wider country by accident.

In this context, according to radical with heavy cognition of the field, the astir apt scenarios are that the marine drone was deliberately guided to the circumstantial determination successful bid to stay concealed determination until its operational use. Under specified a scenario, it is besides imaginable that it was transported and dropped disconnected successful the country by different aboveground vessel.

The 2nd script concerns the anticipation that it mislaid its orientation, apt owed to issues with its Starlink satellite transportation (as corresponding infrastructure tin reportedly beryllium seen successful the photos released publicly), causing it to participate the cave. Even successful specified a case, however, the circumstantial hiding spot appears to person been preselected, with the marine drone yet heading determination based connected anterior programming oregon information.

At the aforesaid time, the deactivation of the explosives it carried by weaponry disposal experts, with assistance from the Hellenic Armed Forces, constitutes different important constituent nether investigation, arsenic the marine drone was reportedly recovered by Greek fishermen with its motor inactive running. The beingness of explosives besides rules retired immoderate anticipation that the drone was intended simply for surveillance oregon reconnaissance, according to officials acquainted with the matter, indicating alternatively that it was designed for violative use.

Moreover, its exertion reportedly resembles the Ukrainian-made Magura V3 marine drone, a benignant extensively utilized by Kyiv against the Russian fleet successful the Black Sea. This benignant of unmanned aboveground vas tin question distances of up to 800 kilometers, scope speeds of up to 80 km/h, and run autonomously for up to 60 hours. Given that the find tract is astir 1,500 kilometers from the Black Sea, 1 moving proposal of the Greek authorities is that the drone was intended for usage against the alleged “Shadow Fleet” — tankers transporting Russian lipid contempt Western sanctions and often passing done the Aegean and Ionian Seas. Supporting this proposal is the beingness of detonators, suggesting that the relation whitethorn person intended to attack a tanker arsenic it passed adjacent the explosives-laden marine drone.

However, sources acquainted with the facts cannot definitively regularisation retired the anticipation that the marine drone was portion of the instrumentality utilized by an amerciable cause trafficking oregon smuggling network, arsenic the usage of USVs for transporting narcotics has accrued worldwide successful caller years.