From submarines to the Crimean bridge: what targets can the Toloka drone destroy?

At the Defense Tech Valley 2025 summit in Lviv, the latest Ukrainian development was shown – the TOLOKA underwater drone. It is being created for both reconnaissance and surveillance, and for strike missions. The device can operate autonomously for several months and cover thousands of kilometers. This underwater “monster” will become a real threat to the illegal Crimean bridge.

This was reported by “Military”, which spoke with a representative of the Toloka company. A video of the conversation was published on their YouTube channel.

TOLOKA-1000 is a diesel-electric autonomous vehicle with a composite hull, a diameter of 1.5 meters and a load capacity of up to 5 tons. It is capable of diving to a depth of up to 1000 meters, developing a speed of 5 to 15 knots and operating for up to three months thanks to recharging from a diesel generator. The cruising range is up to 2000 km. Currently, tests of on-board equipment are underway, after which sea trials are planned. In parallel, the company is preparing smaller models for production – TOLOKA-400 and TOLOKA-200.

At the same time, Captain 1st Rank Reserve, former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Navy Andriy Ryzhenko, in an interview with UNIAN, assessed the potential of drones. He noted that the most optimal for Ukraine’s needs is a version 4-6 meters long, with a range of 1,600 km (from Odessa to the Crimean Bridge and back) and a load capacity of 500 kg.

According to him, the drone is capable of performing several functions at once – fighting Russian submarines, striking strategic targets, in particular the Crimean Bridge, and mining ports to prevent enemy ships from going out to sea.

As previously reported, a number of new-generation Ukrainian developments were presented at the international defense innovation summit in Lviv. The most attention was attracted by the underwater drone TOLOKA , which is presented in three modifications.

We will also recall that the Fire Point company, which created the Flamingo missile, has already reached a production rate of 50 units of this weapon per month . By the end of the year, the company plans to achieve a new record – to produce about seven missiles daily.