Seven months ago, enterprising Ukrainian engineers kluged together a combination of sensors and infrared-guided R-73 air-to-air missiles borrowed from the Ukrainian air force and mounted the resulting system on some of the Ukrainian intelligence directorate’s Magura V5 drone attack boats.
Sometime in recent days, one of the 18-foot Magura V5s got into a fight with a gun-armed Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter—and shot down the Mi-8. It was the first aerial kill by an unmanned surface vehicle, and a harbinger of a new era in naval warfare. “Historic strike,” the intelligence directorate crowed as it released footage of the engagement.
Ukraine’s single-use drone boats—the Magura V5s and similar Sea Babies—have wreaked havoc on the battered Russian Black Sea Fleet this year. In separate raids on Crimean anchorages in February, May and June, the explosives-laden USVs sank a corvette, a landing ship, a patrol boat and a tugboat.
After those sinkings, the Black Sea Fleet was down to no more than two-thirds of its pre-war strength.
Determined to protect what’s left of the fleet, the Russian navy stiffened the defenses around naval bases in Crimea and southern Russia. The approaches to these bases are now patrolled by helicopters and Raptor patrol boats, among other assets.
To give the satellite-guided Sea Babies and Magura V5s a fighting chance against these defenses, the Ukrainians began upgrading their USVs back in the spring. Some got remotely operated turrets for heavy machine guns. Others got the R-73 treatment.
The latter deployed for the first time in May, and elicited a surprised reaction from befuddled Russian aircrew. “The Ukrainians were able to somehow connect the [R-73] rocket with the USV’s telecontrol systems,” the Fighterbomber Telegram channel mused.
Gun-armed Sea Babies operated by the Ukrainian federal security service motored into action for the first time in early December—and even took a few potshots at the Mi-8s that rose to meet them, possibly damaging at least one of the helicopters. There were dead and injured crew board the helicopter, the security service reported.
But the helicopter itself survived the engagement. It would be another three weeks before a Magura V brought down its first airborne target. “This is an unprecedented event with significant implications for Russia’s operations in the Black Sea,” Finnish analyst Joni Askola noted.
It’s also possible the Ukrainians could add the same sensors and missiles to ground robots. “If Ukraine can replicate this achievement at a low cost using unmanned ground vehicles,” Askola pointed out, “it could enhance Ukraine’s short-range air defense capabilities.”
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