This Tiny 'Aircraft Carrier' Is Just Over A Meter Long, Yet Useful (And Deadly)

Aircraft carriers are, by their very nature, massive military machines. This is because they have dozens of aircraft that routinely take off and land on their flight decks, so size is important. The United States Navy's most recent flat top, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), is the largest military ship ever constructed, she's huge. While carriers regularly accommodate helicopters and fighter jets, they can utilize larger aircraft. Back in the '60s, testing proved that the largest plane to land on an aircraft carrier was considerably massive.

On the other end, carriers launch and recover drones, and they're tiny in comparison to something like an F-35C Lightning II. Ukraine doesn't have any traditional flat tops, but that doesn't mean the nation hasn't innovated along the same lines during the Russo-Ukrainian War. Instead of building huge ships to launch large fleets of drones, engineers in Ukraine figured out that it wasn't necessary. Instead, they came up with a small, meter-long (3.3 feet) aircraft carrier that can extend the range of remotely-piloted first-person view (FPV) drones weighing approximately 4.4 lbs.

The Ursula drone boat looks much like a radio-controlled toy you might find at a hobby shop, but it's considerably more advanced and a whole lot deadlier. Ursula can travel up rivers, through swamps, and other hard-to-navigate waterways to strike Russian targets in otherwise "safe" locations. It's a potential game-changer for the ongoing conflict. ToviTechNet revealed the multi-role vessel in a short video clip shared online in July 2025, and from the look of it, Ursula can bring a lot of pain Russia's way.

While there's not much known about the capabilities of the Ursula or the drones it carries, it's possible to surmise some aspects from the video. In it, the little boat appears to host a single quadcopter FPV drone, which remains in place as the boat zips along the water. Once in position, the drone, which likely has a limited range, would take off and complete its mission, which could be anything from dropping ordnance, detonating on contact, or collecting intelligence.

Ursula will be outfitted with a variety of sensors. While the design is new, Ukraine isn't inexperienced in operating uncrewed surface vessels (USV) like Ursula, and the nation has demonstrated an ability to launch drones from such USVs. Similarly, Ukraine's Magura USV has been used to fire supersonic missiles at Russian fighter jets, so the Ursula is another arrow in its quiver.

It's likely Ukraine will use the Ursula (if it hasn't done so already) in the Dnipro River, which extends for 610 miles through its territory. The river has been used as a natural defensive line, and its bridges are vital chokepoints that both sides have utilized. Using Ursula to dominate the Dnipro could aid in swaying the campaign Ukraine's way, so it's likely only a matter of time before reports begin hitting the wire about FPVs striking areas they previously couldn't reach.