During the Brave1 Defense Tech Valley 2025 exhibition scheduled for September 16–17 this year in Lviv, the Ukrainian industry presented the largest unmanned combat underwater vehicle of the Toloka family, named TLK 1000.
Photos: Internet
The family was developed by a team of engineers centered around Brave1, a Ukrainian government platform and innovation cluster in defense technologies, launched on April 26, 2023, which is also the organizer of the exhibition. The latest edition of the event was attended by over 5,000 guests from more than 40 countries. At the same time, investors from the Dutch company NUNC Capital, the German-Luxembourgish Verne Capital, and the Swedish Varangians & Oedipus Inc. provided more than 100 million USD to Ukrainian defense start-ups.
Brave1 was established on the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. Its goal is to rapidly develop and implement innovative military solutions such as drones, electronic warfare systems, robots, and artificial intelligence systems that can be deployed to the front line within weeks, rather than months or years.
The first model in the family of electric crewless vehicles, the Toloka TLK 150, was unveiled as early as 2023. It featured a 2.5-meter-long hull, a range of up to 100 km, and a payload capacity of 20–50 kg. It was equipped with a daytime camera and a thermal imaging camera for night operations, GPS navigation, and communication antennas, all mounted on a mast protruding above the water surface.
The next model was the Toloka TLK 400 with a modular hull 4–6 m long, a range of up to 1,200 km, and a payload capacity of up to 500 kg.
Now the largest member has been unveiled: the Toloka TLK 1000, 4–12 m in length, with a range of up to 2,000 km and a payload capacity of up to 5,000 kg.
These are unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) designed to carry warheads to carry out kamikaze-type missions (similar to surface crewless vessels such as the Magura V5).
Toloka family/ Image: Brave1
According to commentators, the Toloka TLK 1000 could be used to destroy spans of the Kerch (Crimean) Bridge, which has already been effectively attacked three times by Ukrainians and was only damaged. Kyiv authorities consider the structure illegal and view it as crucial for supplying logistics to the Russian occupying forces.
The last time systems from the Toloka family, together with the full-size TLK-150, were shown to allies was on February 24 this year during the Support Ukraine summit in Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then emphasized that the combat vehicles are capable of striking ships, ports, and strategic targets.
In Lviv, engineers unveiled Ukraine’s Toloka underwater drone, with versions up to 12 meters long. Three TLK 1000 variants were shown, ranging from 4 to 12 meters. The drones can travel up to 2,000 km and carry up to 5 tons of payload. pic.twitter.com/pLewZtbcVx
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) September 19, 2025
A powerful vote of confidence for Ukraine's defense tech! At Defense Tech Valley 2025, investors from 🇳🇱 NUNC Capital, 🇩🇪🇱🇺 Verne Capital, 🇸🇪 Varangians & Oedipus INC pledged $100+ mln to Ukrainian defense startups. Ready to scale battle-proven solutions with our partners. pic.twitter.com/46NAPqviiS
— BRAVE1 (@BRAVE1ua) September 19, 2025
⚡️ @BRAVE1ua Defense Tech Valley 2025 in Lviv drew 5,000 guests, 300 investors, and $100M in pledges, cementing Ukraine as the global hub of battlefield innovation. @UNITED24 joined as the official charity partner of the summit. pic.twitter.com/G0ZIerMeTZ
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) September 19, 2025
We did it!
Brave1 Defense Tech Valley 2025 hosted 5,000+ visitors from 50 countries: investors, manufacturers, and military. The opening ceremony honored our soldiers, with the flags of top drone units raised by legendary Ukrainian Heavy Shot & Vampire drones. Take a look! pic.twitter.com/UPFEJtn5O0— BRAVE1 (@BRAVE1ua) September 19, 2025