Naval drone Magura V5 brings down Russian Mi-8 – a first off Crimea

The special unit “Group 13” of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence used the last day of 2024 for a shoot-down: its Magura V5 naval drone brought down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter.

The published video of the engagement shows a helicopter firing at the Magura V5 with its onboard weapons; the projectile hits are clearly visible. Nevertheless, the drone then managed to target the helicopter with an R-73 SeeDragon guided missile and shoot it down. The engagement took place in the area of Cape Tarkhankut on the north-western tip of Crimea, which is occupied by Russia.

A historic strike: @DI_Ukraine warriors destroyed an aerial target using a Magura V5 naval drone.
A russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed using R-73 “SeeDragon” missiles near Cape Tarkhankut in temporarily occupied Crimea.
Another enemy helicopter was damaged and returned to… pic.twitter.com/AMOiuVEzWe— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 31, 2024

The helicopter crew were presumably killed in the shoot-down. At least that is what “Fighterbomber”, a well-known Russian blogger close to the air force, suggests: he laments the loss of “the best crew” since 2022.

What sets the Magura V5 naval drone apart

The Magura V5 unmanned surface vessel (USV) is developed and operated by the Ukrainian military. It takes its name from the goddess of war and victory in Slavic mythology. Compared with its predecessor, the Sea Baby, it is smaller and more manoeuvrable.

This is #Ukraine-developed and manufactured unmanned surface vessel (USV) MAGURA V5. It can carry up to 320 kg of explosives at 80 km per hour and have a range of 800 km from the launch side. This would cover much of the Black Sea:
pic.twitter.com/eOUk6flo28— Alexander Kokcharov (@alex_kokcharov) July 29, 2023

The Magura V5’s targets are not only slow-moving or anchored ships; it can also attack warships under way on the high seas. Instead of serving as a charge carrier steered into a ship at the water surface like a torpedo, it can also be fitted with short-range air defence missiles, among other things.

Russia has long been protecting its sea lanes against Ukrainian surface drones with helicopters and aircraft. That the Magura V5 was being armed with the R-73 first became known in May 2024. Since then, Ukraine has repeatedly tried to lure the enemy into a trap with the air defence missile – so far without success: the Russians always emerged victorious from the engagements.

Undated footage of the crew of a Russian BSF’s Kamov Ka-29 helicopter attempting to destroy a Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicle (USV), which appears to be equipped with a Soviet-era R-73 air-to-air missile (modified for launches from USVs).
As the video ends, the Ukrainian USV… pic.twitter.com/EbZdYIZsvA— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) October 23, 2024

The mission of 31 December 2024 made military history: never before had an unmanned surface vessel shot down an aircraft.

R-73 SeeDragon guided missile

The R-73 SeeDragon guided missile used appears to be a variant of the infrared-guided Vympel R-73 (NATO reporting name: AA-11 Archer), specially adapted to the extreme conditions at sea. Weighing around 110 kilograms, it is comparable to Western types such as the AIM-9X Sidewinder or the Iris-T from Diehl Defence.

As the first highly agile short-range air defence missile with a wide acquisition envelope, the R-73 was already superior to its Western counterparts in every respect by the mid-1980s. At the start of the war, Ukraine had a large stock of R-73 missiles.

Most recently, Magura V5 drones have also served as carriers for first-person view (FPV) drones. This allows them to engage targets effectively both at sea and on land. In the summer, Magura V5 drones also attacked oil and gas platforms of the company Chornomornaftogaz. These installations formerly belonged to Ukraine; after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, pro-Russian occupation authorities seized them. Since then, the Russian military has been monitoring the sea and airspace from there.