The officer of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) identified by the call sign “13th” under military protocol in interwiew with Associated Press told that Ukraine’s unmanned fleet has forced russia to effectively abandon active operations in the Black Sea, and the next stage will be the transition to autonomous guidance systems.
According to him, russian military vessels “practically do not operate at sea,” venturing only 40 kilometers from port to launch missiles at Ukraine before immediately returning under the protection of coastal air defense systems. “They are constantly hiding. And this is also the result of our work imagine the cost of maintaining a fleet that cannot operate at sea,”.
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Sea drone Magura V7 / Photo credit: Assotiated Press
Since early 2022, russia’s notable naval dominance with the capability for amphibious operations and missile strikes has transformed into a defensive posture with ships severely restricted to heavily protected zones near occupied Sevastopol and Novorossiysk.
Ukrainian maritime drones have previously struck high-value targets, including the amphibious assault ship Caesar Kunikov, the missile corvette Ivanovets, and the missile cruiser Moskva in April 2022. Recently, Ukrainian officials have stated that maritime strike drones were used against vessels of russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which is engaged in sanctions evasion. The commander declined to comment on these operations.
Fire aboard a russian shadow-fleet tanker / Open source photo
Units of DIU currently use two modifications of the Magura family: the smaller ramming V5 and the larger V7, which serves as a weapons platform. Both are remotely controlled via suitcase-sized consoles equipped with joysticks, screens, and security systems.
Recently, operators demonstrated the V7 equipped with modified American Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. In May, GUR announced that a Magura drone shot down a russian fighter jet an event the commander called a breakthrough” in naval warfare and the first documented aerial combat by an unmanned surface vessel.
Sea drone Magura V7 / Photo credit: Assotiated Press
Defense Express previously reported that new photographs have emerged providing the best demonstration of the Magura V7 configuration with anti-aircraft missiles showing for the first time how a maritime drone gains the ability to strike aerial targets directly from the water surface.