Aquatechnik

Aquatechnik is a Ukrainian developer of unmanned sea and river vehicles, best known for the heavy Marichka attack underwater drone. The Marichka is a large autonomous craft reported to carry a payload of around a tonne to ranges near 1,000 km at a cruising speed of roughly 10 km/h, guided by an inertial navigation system. It is designed to strike ships, ports and bridges, though the company also describes reconnaissance and transport roles, and says it can loiter submerged for up to a week before an attack. Engineers have spoken of four hull variants.

Alongside the Marichka, Aquatechnik has shown a line of surface drones aimed at shorter-range work. The Khoryv, the company’s first design, was a slow fiber-optic craft assembled in 2023 around a 3D-printed hull and a 20–25 kg warhead; the enlarged Khoryv 2.0 carries more and is the model the company plans to put through Ministry of Defence codification for army procurement, with production cited at 30–40 boats a month. The Harpoon adds water-jet propulsion; the electric Dzyga is built around a foam hull, carries up to 70 kg to a range near 70 km at up to 40 km/h, and is flown over Starlink with autopilot backup and a return-to-base capability; and the in-development Viy is planned to carry a combat turret to escort other craft. Fiber-optic models run links of 15–50 km, alternative-communications variants 80–100 km, sidestepping radio jamming.

The Marichka was first unveiled in 2023 by the volunteer group AMMO.UKRAINE, which crowdfunded its development from donations. The same drone has since been presented under the Aquatechnik name as a commercial product paid for by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, though the precise relationship between the volunteer team and the company has not been publicly detailed. Reporting in early 2026 placed the Marichka in trials rather than confirmed use.

Aquatechnik sits among a wave of Ukrainian naval-drone makers that have reshaped the Black Sea fight — alongside the Magura and Sea Baby programmes — but stands out for pairing surface craft with a heavy underwater platform.