US Navy Tests Ukraine-Style One-Way Attack Sea Drones in Pacific SINKEX
The US Navy tested “one-way attack” unmanned surface vessels — similar to those Ukraine has used in the Black Sea — against a decommissioned amphibious ship during a Pacific SINKEX exercise.
- Exercise: Pacific SINKEX (live sinking)
- System: one-way attack (kamikaze) unmanned surface vessels
- Target: decommissioned amphibious ship
- Inspiration: Ukraine’s Black Sea sea-drone tactics
The development
During a Pacific SINKEX exercise, the US Navy employed one-way attack unmanned surface vessels against a decommissioned amphibious ship. Such expendable sea drones are designed to strike a target with an explosive payload.
SINKEX exercises sink real ships with live munitions to test weapons and platforms under realistic conditions.
Why the shift
Ukraine’s use of relatively small, cheap explosive-laden sea drones to neutralise large warships in the Black Sea has sharpened Western navies’ interest in the capability. The US Navy is moving toward low-cost systems that can be built in numbers and strike without risking expensive platforms.
The approach shows unmanned systems taking an increasingly central role in naval tactics.
Regional significance
In a potential Indo-Pacific conflict, expendable sea drones could tilt the cost balance toward the defender. For Türkiye, sea-drone and unmanned surface vessel technology is growing more visible in domestic programmes as both threat and opportunity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a SINKEX?
A naval exercise in which a decommissioned ship is sunk with live munitions to test weapons and platforms under realistic conditions.
What is a one-way attack drone?
An unmanned craft designed to strike a target with an explosive payload, destroying itself; it is not meant to return.
Sources
- Naval News — US Navy tests one-way attack sea drones during Pacific SINKEX, 25 July 2026
