UPD. First, information appeared that on May 2, 2025, in the Black Sea area, as a result of an operation by the GUR special forces unit, a MAGURA sea drone was used for the first time in the world to destroy a Russian Su-30 combat aircraft. Later, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, reported the shooting down of another aircraft.
UPD. First, information appeared that on May 2, 2025, in the Black Sea area, as a result of an operation by the GUR special forces unit, a MAGURA sea drone was used for the first time in the world to destroy a Russian Su-30 combat aircraft. Later, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, reported the shooting down of another aircraft.
A missile from a Magura unmanned sea platform destroyed a multi-role fighter jet of the aggressor state, the cost of which is estimated at about $50 million, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported .
The GUR provided video footage of the enemy plane going down. It was shot down in the Black Sea near the port in the city of Novorossiysk. It is there, according to the information provided, that the Muscovites are hiding the remains of their Black Sea fleet.
UPDATED. 04.05.2025 13:50
«This is a historic moment,» Lieutenant General Kirill Budanov told The War Zone. He said two Su-30 Flanker multirole fighters were shot down by AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles fired from Magura-7 unmanned boats.
According to Budanov, to shoot down enemy aircraft, the GUR used three Magura-7 unmanned boats, which carried out air defense, two of which fired at the aircraft.
According to a previous report, the crew of the first Su-30 survived and was picked up in the Black Sea by a civilian ship, while the crew of the second aircraft probably died.
The Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus (MAGURA) V-type is a new generation multi-purpose unmanned surface ship developed by the Ukrainian state-owned company SpetsTechnoExport.
For the first time, Ukrainian engineers demonstrated their development, namely the MAGURA V5 marine drone, at the international defense exhibition IDEF 2023 in Istanbul.
On February 14, 2024, the GUR, in cooperation with all components of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine, destroyed the large landing ship «Tsezar Kunikov» of the Black Sea Fleet of the aggressor state of Russia. The strikes on the enemy ship were carried out by Magura V5 naval drones off the coast of the temporarily occupied Crimea near the city of Alupka. A little earlier, it was reported that the Russian missile boat «Ivanovets» was also sunk by six MAGURA naval drones.
In March 2024, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, reported that specialists were working to install air defense systems on the MAGURA unmanned platform.
In May 2024, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Andriy Yusov, summed up that the losses for the Russian Black Sea Fleet due to the actions of Magura drones amounted to about $500 million. According to him, the Magura V5 naval drone is constantly being improved. After each successful operation, a thorough analysis is carried out of the actions of both Ukrainian intelligence officers and Russian occupiers.
In particular, one of the modifications of the Magura naval drone is a platform capable of carrying R-73 air-to-air missiles. This was reported by the commander of the special unit of the General Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Group 13, with the call sign «Thirteenth».
In March of this year, it became known that the Ukrainian Magura V5 surface drone received a new upgrade that allows it to operate together with a «swarm» of decoy drones. This overloads Russian defense systems, allowing the main strike vehicles to reach the target.
