Russia creates 'killer' drone for Ukrainian naval drones - ISW
Ukrainian naval drone Magura V5 (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Russian military forces have developed a drone capable of targeting Ukrainian military sea drones. This could undermine the dominance of the Ukrainian Navy in the Black Sea, reports the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
On February 1, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the Black Sea Fleet used a drone to destroy a Ukrainian military sea drone.
Russian military bloggers claim that the Russian Black Sea Fleet launched missiles from an Orion drone, produced by the Russian company Kronstadt, from an unspecified military sea platform.
This strike could be the first documented instance of Russian forces using a military sea object to deploy drones capable of targeting Ukrainian military sea drones.
At the same time, another Russian blogger urged the government to increase the production of weapons like X-UAV missiles (TKB-1030) launched from drones. This would enable more effective counteraction against the maritime drone capabilities of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which have made it too risky for Russia to use helicopters in the Black Sea region.
"Ukrainian forces have demonstrated their ability to down Russian Mi-8 helicopters operating over the Black Sea using missiles launched from Magura V5 naval strike drones, and the February 1 BSF strike suggests that Russian forces have developed a new method to try to offset this Ukrainian naval drone adaptation" the ISW report states.
Ukrainian naval drones Magura V5
In 2023-2024, Ukrainian kamikaze maritime drones damaged or destroyed a significant number of ships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
In late December, Ukrainian forces made history by destroying a Russian Mi-8 helicopter with missiles launched from the Magura V5 strike maritime drone.
According to research by Polish scientists, the Magura V5 drone destroyed the highest number of Russian ships throughout the full-scale war.
