UK Minister for Defence Procurement, Maria Eagle, mentioned the Wasp and Snapper uncrewed maritime vessel (UMV) programmes in two written responses to the UK Parliament on February 4, 2025, in which she noted that both are "new uncrewed maritime systems" that have been "rapidly developed" specifically to support Ukraine.
The Naval Technology portal for the study of naval weapons has reported this.
"The system is currently undergoing final testing, and further details will be set out in due course," Eagle said.
It is likely that these developments were referred to by the UK Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, at the annual ADS dinner (a trade association promoting leadership in the aerospace, defence and security industries, – ed.) on January 28, 2024.
“We have created an industrial base for new capabilities – practically from scratch… Delivering – on a large scale – one of the most effective unmanned vehicle systems to Ukraine,” Healey said at the time.
In response to a request from Naval Technology, the UK Ministry of Defence refused to provide any further information about the development of the Wasp and Snapper unmanned systems.
Analysis by Ship technology predicts that naval drones, both surface and underwater platforms, will transform naval warfare.
"An example of this is Ukraine's use of naval drones against Russian forces, which use rapidly developed surface strike platforms to suppress and strike large surface combat units," the publication notes.
Thus, in March 2024, the Armed Forces of Ukraine reportedly forced the russian Black Sea Fleet to withdraw from the front line of hostilities after more than a third of the fleet was "severely damaged or completely destroyed."
"The devastation suffered by the Russian Navy, caused in great part by unmanned maritime vehicles (UMVs), has required military leaders across the globe to give additional thought to the way that UMVs will alter the future of naval war," the analysis says.
Ship technology claims that perhaps the most important of all drones deployed in the combat zone has been the Magura V5 USV - a 5.5-meter small drone weighing less than 1,000 kg. The drone has a range of up to 800 km, a maximum speed of 78 km/h, and is capable of carrying 200 kg of explosive payload.
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