This Russian ship was sunk by one of Ukraine's cutting edge naval drones

The Russian Navy is considered one of the largest and mightiest in the world, making any fight against them a true David-versus-Goliath situation. However, Ukraine has found a way to give them a few headaches.

Ukrainian drone operators have gotten very good at sinking Russian Navy vessels using unmanned sea surface drones, but the most recent sinking of a Russian ship was a little different than previous incidents according to one report. 

The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) claimed that a Magura V5 drone destroyed a Russian KS 701 Tunets speedboat during a nighttime attack that took place on August 9th according to a report posted on the group's Facebook. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Andrewrabbott, Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The destroyed KS 701 was taken out of the coast of Crimea village of Chornomorske by a special unit known as Group 13 during a larger operation. It was reported that Russian forces tried to counter the attack with the help of helicopters and machine guns, though this proved unsuccessful. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @DefenceIntelligenceofUkraine

“Three other invaders’ boats were also damaged as a result of the operation. Their type is being determined,” the GUR’s report noted according to a translation from the Ukrainian military website Militarnyi. 

Photo Credit: Facebook @DefenceIntelligenceofUkraine

“In total, 18 maritime facilities of the Russian aggressor state were successfully hit with the help of Ukrainian-made MAGURA V5 naval drones, 9 of them were destroyed,” the DIU report added along with other details of the night’s attacks. 

The Magura V5 has proven to be a rather useful unnamed sea surface vehicle since it was introduced into the Ukrainian drone arsenal. In March 2024, it was reported that the Magura V5 had inflicted roughly $500 million dollars in damage on the Russian Navy. 

During a national telethon, a press representative for the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, revealed that the Magura V5 naval drone had emerged as a unique new weapon that has dealt a lot of damage to the Russian Navy.  

Yusov said that the secret of the Megura V5 drone was in the skills of its manufacturers, which are Ukrainian, and added they had managed to create a unique sea weapon that has taken its toll on Russian naval equipment and personnel.

“They were able to create a unique means of destroying the enemy fleet and not only the fleet, but also the weapons and personnel on board at the time of destruction,” Yusov said according to Defense Express. 

Yusov also added that the skill of the operators of the Magura V5 drones as well as the help from other specialists from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine have also played a role in making the naval drone so effective on the Black Sea. 

The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine special unit Group 13 was given special mention by Yusov before he moved on to assess the formidable nature of the Magura V5, revealing that it was likely the most effective weapon on the Black Sea. 

"As of today, the aggressor's Black Sea Fleet has already suffered more than $500 million in losses as a result of the actions of the special units of Defense Intelligence of Ukraine that use Maguras V5 drone," Yusov explained.

The Magura V5 was developed by SpecialTechnoExport, a private Ukrainian company that Kyiv Post reported there was relatively little information about. However, the world does know quite a bit about these new naval sea drones. 

Kyiv Post noted that the Magura V5 is 5.5 meters in length or roughly 18 feet and it has a width of 1.5 meters or roughly 5 feet. The drone sits just 500mm or 1.6 feet above the surface of the water and has 320 kilograms or 705.5 pounds payload.

The Magura V5 has a cruising speed of 22 knots (41 kph/ 25.3 mph), a maximum speed of 42 knots (78/ 48.3 mph), and a range of 450 nautical miles 833 kilometers/ 518 miles, which means it can cover a lot of ground when target hunting. 

"It is an affordable solution that can be easily launched from any remote location,” SpecialTechnoExport stated at the International Defense Industry Exhibition in July 2023 according to a separate Kyiv Post report. 

“The V5's unmanned control minimizes the need for human resources during missions, reducing potential mortality in challenging environments,” SpecialTechnoExport added.

The Magura V5 has proven to be a very effective tool in Ukraine’s arsenal. It has racked up a record of major operational victories. For example, the naval drones destroyed two ships in November 2023 according to The War Zone. 

In February 2024, Ukraine reported a pack of six Magura V5 drones attacked and then sank the large landing ship Tsezar Kunikov close to Russian territorial waters in Alupka according to a report from Reuters. 

Photo Credit: Screenshot via X @DefenceU

"Today, more security in the Black Sea and more motivation for our people were added. This is important… we will clear the Black Sea of Russian terrorist objects," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address at the time.

One of the most recent victims of the Magura V5 was the Russian patrol vessel Sergei Kotov, which BBC News reported was sunk by the naval drones on March 5th based on reports from Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR). 

Photo Credit: Screenshot via Facebook @DefenceIntelligenceofUkraine

On May 6th, Group 13 used a Magura V5 to destroy a Russian high-speed boat while on a mission in Crimea’s Uzka Bay according to Ukraine's state-run media outlet Ukriniform, which reported on a statement from the GUR.

"As the fear of Ukrainian attacks forces the invaders to redeploy their Black Sea Fleet’s larger ships farther away from the peninsula, combat work continues against the high-speed vessels illegally remaining in the Ukrainian territorial waters of Crimea," the GUR noted. 

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