Magura V5 naval drones to get anti-air and dive capabilities

Ukraine has developed innovative naval drone capabilities to reclaim the Black Sea from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet domination. Ukrainian long-range strikes with surface suicide drones and cruise missiles have pushed Russian ships further away from the Ukrainian coast. Currently defenseless against Russian attack helicopters and ship armaments, maritime drones such as Magura V5 rely solely on maneuverability during suicide charges on Russian ships.

Soon, they may begin to hide and fight back: the Magura surface drones, which are behind the sinking of Russia’s guided-missile corvette Ivanovets, the large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov, and the patrol corvette Sergei Kotov in February-March 2024, are expecting weapon upgrades. 

The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War has revolutionized the use of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), with Ukraine leveraging new technologies for sea denial and Russia developing similar systems. Advances in semi-submerged and fully submerged drones, or UUVs/AUVs, offer advantages due to their smaller size compared to manned vessels. The Magura is a surface drone, the Ukrainian intelligence’s working horse in the Black Sea.

Ukraine plans to upgrade its Magura V5 naval drones to address their current defenselessness against Russian gunship helicopters that often hit them during drone suicide missions against Russia’s navy, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief: work is underway to improve the Magura to add capabilities of engaging ground, surface, and air targets.

In his interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), said:

“Specialists are currently working on installing air defense equipment on the [Magura V5] unmanned platform. I’m not a technician, but I understand that this is a rather difficult task. We need means of detecting a target, capturing an air object, and a means of destruction – and all of this must be placed on a fairly small platform. This is not an easy task from a purely technical point of view, but it is real [to achieve],” Budanov told UP.

A Magura developer told Ukrainska Pravda that wave impacts and pressure drops strain the drone’s structure, making stabilizer development a significant challenge. However, work is already in progress to equip the drones with modules for targeting ground, surface, and air targets. Efforts are also being made to enhance their stealth, including the ability to dive underwater temporarily.

Ukraine has been actively developing and using various naval drones, with Russia later joining the arms race but has yet to showcase its designs in action.

Ukrainian maritime drones have made Russia’s Black Sea Fleet vulnerable, forcing it to move the fleet’s core from occupied Crimea to Russia’s Novorossiysk on the Black Sea’s eastern coast, yet still within Ukrainian drone range. Russian ships now avoid the Ukrainian coast and reduce open sea time, with Kalibr missile launches from the Black Sea decreasing significantly, says Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk, BBC says.

In late 2023, the HUR noted that Ukraine successfully used marine strike drones to clear a sea strip of up to 200 miles from the coast, creating a safe shipping corridor free from Russian presence.

The story of Magura

In the summer of 2022, a few months into Russia’s full-scale invasion, the concept of uncrewed surface vessels (USV) existed only as theoretical designs on a drawing board, according to Ukrainska Pravda. But the Ukrainians were highly motivated to explore any avenues to target Russia’s Black Sea Fleet after the sinking of Russia’s flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser, with two indigenous Neptune missiles.

The lethal Magura drone program could have never made it into the hands of the HUR intelligence agency. Initially, the manufacturer of this had plans to work with Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) on developing their naval drones instead.

By September 2022, the first relatively primitive prototypes of the Magura drone were completed – little more than simple unmanned surface vessels with basic engines, Starlink satellite communications, and control systems.

On the night of 16-17 September 2022, the bare-bones Magura drones were launched into Sevastopol Bay in their first combat deployment, though this attack failed due to Starlink being blocked near the Russian-occupied peninsula.

Elon Musk indeed thwarted Ukrainian attack on Crimea by blocking Starlink

Musk earlier claimed he never activated Starlink in Crimea to begin with. However, witnesses say he deliberately switched it off during Ukraine's first major attack on Crimeahttps://t.co/WMU5GX1asd— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 3, 2024

The Ukrainians persisted, and just over a month later, on 28-29 October, their naval drones managed to breach through Sevastopol’s layered defenses. Though the full damage was initially unclear, it later emerged they reportedly damaged the radar on the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s new flagship, the Admiral Makarov frigate.

Disputes over quality control, budget, and design specifications between the SBU and the drone developer disrupted the program in 2022, leading the SBU to sever ties and start an independent naval drone project that later resulted in Sea Baby USV.

Ukraine unveils Sea Baby Avdiivka naval drone

The ousted company then partnered with Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Directorate, which was conducting its own clandestine unmanned maritime operations, and accelerated the Magura’s improvement.

The USV would become one of Ukraine’s most potent weapons in denying Moscow the naval supremacy it required to bombard cities and make amphibious landing attempts.

The Magura drones can carry an explosive payload of 320 kg and sail up to 800 km on one-way missions.

Magura’s first HUR mission

The initial Magura prototypes had relied heavily on SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet network for command and control, which had already proven to be a glaring vulnerability with the service being restricted in Russian-occupied zones. For the HUR’s upgraded Magura models, the developers implemented backup communications channels and other redundancies to ensure resiliency if any single uplink was disrupted or jammed.

Their concept evolved into a “drone of drones” strategy, with a single operator managing coordinated teams of autonomous, networked Maguras that could share sensor data and adapt if one drone’s communication was disrupted. “Borets,” head of the HUR’s unmanned systems department, described an operation where they lost connection as they approached a ship. Despite the initial loss of control and the ship’s crew repelling the attack, the connection was restored, and they pursued the ship for six hours until it ran out of ammunition. Some drones ran out of fuel, and others were damaged, but they successfully reached their target.

Their first significant success came in May 2023 when, despite challenges like interference and jamming, the Magura struck the Russian spy ship Ivan Khurs over 500 km away at sea. This moment showcased the Magura’s resilience and marked the HUR’s emergence in maritime operations after extensive trials with simpler naval drones. The attack on the Ivan Khurs highlighted advancements in sensor capabilities, onboard optics, and coordination among the Magura drones.

Yesterday, Russian MoD claimed that its Black Sea Fleet's Ivan Khurs reconnaissance ship destroyed three Ukrainian surface drones trying to attack her. New video shows that at least one USV made it to the ship. The result is unknown.

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