VECTORDEFENCE DRONE
INTELLIGENCE
INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE
THE EVOLVING FIELD GUIDE
Editor

Sea surface · Sea surface systems

Vizir / Vizir-M

A Russian uncrewed-boat development line publicly demonstrated for hydrography and modular maritime sensing; military fleet status remains unclear.

Role & capabilities

  • Hydrographic survey development
  • Modular maritime sensing
  • Uncrewed boat experimentation
Development / trialsDevelopment / trials
Primary domain
Sea surface
System type
Uncrewed surface vessel
Developer / manufacturer
Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant (KMZ) / Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University
Origin / production countries
Russia
Other names
Визир; Визир-М; Vizir-M
Variants / configurations
Vizir-M — 2022 hydrographic prototype; Vizir — modular platform displayed in 2023; later configurations require verification
Operators / programme customers
KMZ / university development teams; No military fleet acceptance established from the reviewed primary sources

Evidence & current status

Original Vizir/Vizir-M evidence is retained. The 2024 RK-700M-derived exhibit has its own record; its relationship to later Vizir-2M or military derivatives is not resolved by the reviewed primary sources.

Vizir is a Russian uncrewed-boat development line associated with KMZ and St Petersburg Polytechnic University. Developer sources establish a prototype and exhibition history: the university described a Vizir-M hydrographic complex in 2022, and KMZ showed a jointly developed Vizir platform in June 2023. The university's eight-metre figure refers specifically to its historical prototype.

The original presentation emphasised a modular base for monitoring equipment and sonar. This gives the line relevance to civil survey and defence sensing without proving that every later report using the Vizir name describes the same hull.

A further KMZ announcement in April 2024 described an uncrewed hydrographic boat based on RK-700M project 03080, with its own equipped mass and carrying capacity. It did not clearly resolve that exhibit's relationship to Vizir-M, so the RK-700M derivative now has a separately qualified record. Its figures are not transferred here.

Later military derivative names and production or acceptance claims still need an original configuration document and dated customer evidence. The sources reviewed do not establish a serial military fleet for this particular baseline. The record therefore keeps development/trials status and retains explicit gaps for propulsion, endurance and mission-specific performance.

Sourced specifications

Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.

SpecificationReported valueContext & source
ConfigurationUncrewed modular hydrographic and sensing platform2023 developer presentation. Source ↗
Hull / propulsionNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗
Dimensions8 m length for the Vizir-M prototype shown in 2022Historical prototype value; not applied to all later Vizir variants. Source ↗
Displacement / massNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗
PayloadMonitoring systems and sonar presented as possible equipmentEquipment categories, not verified payload mass. Source ↗
EnduranceNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗
RangeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗
SpeedNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗
Sea state / environmentNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗
SensorsHydrographic and maritime monitoring equipmentPrototype mission description. Source ↗
Communications / controlUncrewed control described as a developer programmeNo comprehensive public control-system specification reviewed. Source ↗
Launch / deploymentNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗

Documented milestones

  1. Vizir exhibited by developers

    KMZ reported a joint exhibit with the Polytechnic University at the naval show.

    Read the announcement ↗

Publication history

  • — Separate the 2024 RK-700M-derived hydrographic exhibit from earlier Vizir prototypes; document limits on derivative identity and acceptance.
  • — Added sourced land and maritime coverage with domain-specific evidence and limitations.

Suggest a correction to this entry →

Follow the evidence

Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.

  1. KMZ joint Vizir exhibit, 23 June 2023 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
  2. University Army-2022 prototype description (opens in a new tab)Developer / research institution
  3. University prototype update, 13 September 2022 (opens in a new tab)Developer / research institution
  4. KMZ distinct RK-700M-derived hydrographic exhibit, 4 April 2024 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme

Explore the connections

Field guideGlobal

Uncrewed surface vessels & naval drones

Understand surface vessels used for naval observation, survey, mine-countermeasure support and other maritime roles, from small craft to larger experimental ships.

Reviewed 20 Sept 2026Read