Ukraine has added heat-seeking missiles to its most effective sea drone

In May 2024, unofficial reports suggested that Ukraine had begun adding heat-seeking missiles to one of its most effective sea drones. Those reports would eventually be confirmed by Ukrainian officals.

The Magura V5 is one of the most deadly unmanned surface vessels (USV) in the Ukrainian drone arsenal. It has played a major role in helping Kyiv fight Russia on the Black Sea and was eventually upgraded with the R-37 missile to improve its combat effectiveness.

Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence confirmed in June 2024 that an unknown number of Magura V5s had been modified so that the USVs could carry the R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles, an upgrade Business Insider reported had been rumored about for months. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By KGyST, Own Work, CC BY 3.0

In May 2024, Russian and Ukrainian reports began emerging suggesting Ukraine's Magura V5s sea surface drones were starting to be equipped with Soviet-era R-73 anti-aircraft missiles according to Newsweek. 

On June 17th, Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (GUR) revealed in a Telegram post that the R-73 equipped Magura V5s posed "a serious factor of fear and risk" according to a translation of the agency's statement from Business Insider.

"Such developments are effective — Russians are very afraid of them," the commander of a special GUR unit known as 'Group 13' said about the new naval drones during an interview at the time.

"When they see them, they are afraid to even fly up. And the uniqueness is that no one has such a thing," the Group 13 commander added.

The Telegram statement from the GUR revealed that R-37 missiles have "already been installed, and it will produce results." But what is this missile and how can it help Ukraine on the Black Sea?

Business Insider's Jake Epstein gave a quick rundown of the R-37, noting that it was a Soviet-era weapon equipped with infrared homing technology and explained the decision to add the missiles to a naval drone is unusual one but "likely to make these combat systems more dynamic during a mission."

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

According to a June 2024 report from the Kyiv Post that quoted a Polish study on the Magura V5, the Ukrainian USV was the first sea drone to hit and completely destroy a large enemy ship in the world.

Unofficial data suggests the Magura V5 has been responsible for over 500 million dollars in damage to the Russian Navy. The unmanned sea drone has been credited with hitting 14 ships and sinking eight.

Part of what makes the Magura V5 such a powerful weapon is its ability to operate in a variety of marine conditions. The addition of R-37 rockets to the USV will only make it even deadlier. However, the Magura V5 isn't the sea drone Ukraine has upgraded.

In May, a Ukrainian official confirmed another interesting upgrade to one of Kyiv's sea drones. Ukraine's Sea Baby unmanned surface vehicle has been upgraded with rockets to make the drones more effective when attacking the Russian Navy.

“The use of naval combat drones is a new milestone in the history of naval battles,” said Vasyl Maliuk, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SSU) while speaking at a United24 event in May according to a press release from the security service. 

“But we have gone much further, and today we are successfully adapting various types of weapons to our drones,” Maliuk added, explaining he could not reveal all the details of the new projects being prepared for Russia.

However, Maliuk did confirm that the SSU had equipped its Sea Baby sea drone with the ability to fire Grad multiple launch rocket systems and said that the security service has been using drones equipped with these rockets since December 2023.  

From images published at the time, it appeared as if the Sea Baby drones had been equipped with rockets sporting a configuration of 6 launch tubes mounted on the top of the drone. Defense Blog noted these rocket tubes would fire 122mm rockets. 

Photo Credit: Security Service of Ukraine

Defence Blog also reported that there had been reports at the time that Sea Baby drones fitted with a multiple rocket launch system were used to attack Russian positions on the Kinburn Spit, an area in Kherson Oblast currently under occupation. 

The Sea Baby drone first made its appearance on the high seas in 2022 after President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the SSU the task of ending Russia’s dominance of the Black Sea. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @SBUkr

Zelensky wanted to create operational conditions that would allow the Ukrainians to ship their grain via a proposed corridor on the Black Sea. It was a mission the SSU was able to accomplish, and one helped by the Sea Baby. 

The SSU was the first government group to use sea drones but Maliuk noted colleagues from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence and the Navy joined the SSU, and together each of the services was able to beat Russia on the Black Sea. 

Maliuk explained that together the three services had accumulated multiple war trophies but he specifically pointed out that the SSU had hit eleven enemy ships. The Sea Baby marine drone was likely instrumental in many of these hits. 

Photo Credit: Screenshot via Facebook @DefenceIntelligenceofUkraine

However, the Sea Baby drones equipped with multiple launch rocket systems would allow the SSU and other services operating the dangerous weapon on the Black Sea to reach an even larger number of targets according to Maliuk. But what do we know about drones?

Newsweek reported that United24 has revealed some of the most important aspects of the Sea Baby. For example, the drone’s hull is made of material that can’t be detected by radar and can travel up to 1,000 kilometers or about 620 miles.

Photo Credit: Telegram @SBUkr

The Sea Baby can accelerate up to 90 kilometers per hour or 56 miles per hour, it costs roughly $221,000 dollars to produce, and it can carry an 850 kilogram or roughly 1,850 pounds of explosives. So it packs a powerful punch. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @SBUkr

"Our Sea Baby is not just a drone, but a multifunctional platform that is constantly being improved," one unnamed source explained to Newsweek about the marine drone. "The enemy is in for new surprises.” This was something Maliuk also promised. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @SBUkr

“There are many, many surprises ahead. Believe me, the SSU and the entire Defence Forces will not let you down. We have to move dynamically to Victory together, because our strength is in unity,’ Maliuk explained at the United24 event.