Ukrainian Magura naval attack drones were designed as ship hunters. With their help, Ukrainian intelligence officers were able to send more than one Russian ship to the bottom.
This is stated in the material of Ukrainskaya Pravda.
Russian ships destroyed by Magura drones
The first success of the Ukrainian maritime strike drones Magura was the Russian reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs. It was sunk in May 2023.
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As the head of the unmanned systems department of the power steering, general with the call sign Borets, said, then the enemy ship was carrying out a mission 120 kilometers northeast of the Bosphorus Strait.
— Ivan Khurs was our first exit successful. But this is a distance of more than 500 kilometers. The operation was very difficult. The mission was delayed due to bad weather conditions. The connection was constantly lost, — remembers the Fighter.
According to the general, when approaching the ship, almost a hundred meters away — lost connection. The scouts stopped controlling the drones, and the enemy crew began to repel the attack. Subsequently, communication was restored and for about six hours the Ukrainian defenders “followed the ship” and waited until the ammunition on board ran out.
— After about two hours it became clear that they were not running out of BC. We met him at about half past twelve in the morning, and until about seven o’clock in the morning he was shooting back. While he was being pursued, some drones had already run out of fuel, since the distances were very long. Some drones were damaged. But we finally got to it, — recalls the intelligence representative.
Later, at the end of July 2023, Magura first caught up with and damaged the Russian patrol ship Sergei Kotov at sea. They will meet for the second time in September of the same year, and again Kotov, along with another ship, Vasily Bykov, will receive damage, but will not sink.
On the night of November 10, Magura’s power steering drones tracked down and in a group hit two high-speed landing boats of the Russians: Chamois and Akula.
Already on February 1, 2024, it was possible to sink the missile boat Ivanovets, February 14 — BDK Caesar Kunikov.
— That is, these drones, if you count Chamois and Shark — four in a row not just damaged, but completely sunk ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, — the material says.
What were the Magura drones designed for
As the developers explain, this model was created specifically for hunting warships at sea. Therefore, this drone is smaller, faster and significantly more maneuverable than other drones.
— Everyone went their own way. We took the path of searching and destroying ships. This is our choice, we are developing exactly this method. Constant patrol — this is not for us. We work precisely. We decided that we work exclusively on ships, — said the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov.
According to him, the same Novorossiysk Bay or Sevastopol — these are interesting objects. The defense there is actually serious, but it can be overcome.
— Why now spend a lot of effort and money where success is doubtful? If you can almost guarantee the destruction of the same targets only on raids and transitions, — added the intelligence chief.
How Magura drones work
As one of the members of Magura’s development team told the publication, if previously the number of drones was smaller, and the main task was simply to get into a warship, now they operate in groups of more than 5 units. This allows you to distribute roles in the group, determine the order of attack, and the like.
It is noted that the main goal of the first phase is to immobilize the target, so the initial strike is usually delivered to the engines.
In the second phase, strikes are delivered to the most vulnerable place of the ship, the developer said. They are determined in advance by studying the target during mission planning. If it was possible to create a hole, then subsequent blows are delivered there.
Next remains the third and final phase — watch it sink.
Previously, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vadim Sukharevsky said that certain units of the Defense Forces at the front are already testing drones with artificial intelligence, but there are certain difficulties.
