A Ukrainian marine drone carrying air-to-air missiles shot down a Russian fighter jet last week in what was described by Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Chief as a ‘historic moment’.
A member of Ukraine’s special forces was guiding the Magura V7 sea vehicle in Black Sea waters close to the Russian port town of Novorossiysk on May 2 when it registered a Russian aircraft streaking overhead.
Stunning heads-up display footage released by Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency showed the moment the drone unleashed a US-supplied AIM-9 sidewinder infrared guided missile and scored a direct hit on the jet – a Su-30SM multirole fighter.
It is believed to be the first time in history that a seaborne military drone has scored a kill on a fixed-wing fighter aircraft.
The hitherto unrealised feat was repeated minutes later when a second Magura drone scored a kill on another Su-30.
The Magura V7 marine drone is based on the same platform as the Magura V5, which has been used to great effect by Ukraine’s armed forces to terrorise Russia‘s Black Sea naval fleet, but has been modified for air defence missions.
Each drone is reported to cost just over £200,000 – a paltry sum in comparison to the cost per unit of the advanced supermanoeuvrable Su-30SM, which comes in at roughly £37 million.
The crew of the first Su-30SM managed to eject and were plucked from the murky waters of the Black Sea by a Russian civilian ship, according to Budanov and Russian military bloggers.
The crew of the second jet were not so lucky and went down with their plane, Ukrainian officials said.
A Ukrainian marine drone carrying air-to-air missiles shot down a Russian fighter jet last week in what was described by Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Chief as a ‘historic moment’
Stunning heads-up display footage released by Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency showed the moment the drone unleashed a US-supplied AIM-9 sidewinder infrared guided missiles and scored a direct hit on the jet
First image of AIM-9-armed Magura V7 Ukrainian marine drone that downed Russian Su-30s over the Black Sea
US AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missile, used by a Ukrainian Magura-7 marine drone to down Russian Su-30 fighter jets over the Black Sea
Hours after the shootdowns, the GUR released a triumphant statement commemorating the successful air defence mission.
‘On May 2, 2025, the special unit of the GUR of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, in cooperation with the SBU and the Defence Forces of Ukraine, eliminated a Russian Su-30 in the Black Sea – this is the first destruction of a combat aircraft by a naval drone in the world.
‘The historic strike was carried out by soldiers of the special forces unit of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry Group 13 with a Magura unmanned maritime platform missile,’ the statement read.
‘The fighter plane of the aggressor state of Russia, which has an estimated cost of about $50 million, burst into flames in the air and eventually fell into the sea – to the bottom, and into the possession of ruthless Neptune.’
Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to the incident but a slew of prominent Russian military blogging channels appeared to verify the Ukrainian claims.
The downing of the Su-30s came on the night of May 2 as part of a wider assault on Novorossiysk, whose mayor declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
While the Magura drones shot down Russian aircraft, airborne unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) battered the port city.
Andrei Kravchenko announced his decision on his official Telegram account which showed him inspecting the damage to apartment buildings and giving orders to officials.
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on the attack, but Ukraine’s air force said Russia had launched its own attacks on Ukrainian positions overnight with some 183 drones and two ballistic missiles.
The Magura air defence drones reportedly shot down two Sukhoi Su-30SM jet fighters
This image shows a Magura V5 sea drone, often laden with explosives to become kamikaze bombers
Astonishing footage, filmed by a GoPro camera, shows the Russian crew of the Caesar Kunikov large landing ship fighting its last battle with Ukrainian marine drones off the coast of Crimea
Explosions rang out around them as the drones one by one slammed into the ship’s hull and lit up the night sky
Russian crew members are seen shooting into the night as Ukrainian drones headed for their ship
The Caesar Kunikov explodes after being hit by Magura seaborne drones
The efficacy of the Magura sea drone as an air defence platform is the latest display of military innovation springing from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In February 2024, the Magura V5 variant was used to sink a Russian ship in the Black Sea.
A GoPro video, taken by sailors aboard the doomed Caesar Kunikov, showed in shocking detail how the navy men desperately tried to fight off the oncoming drones in an intense 20-minute sea battle before their vessel was destroyed in a fiery explosion.
The hellish, chaotic scene saw a small group of seamen unloading their weapons into the murky water.
Explosions rang out around them as the drones one by one slammed into the ship’s hull and lit up the night sky.
The ship powerless to defend against a flotilla of the high-speed, high-explosive and cheap Magura V5 drones controlled by operators hundreds of miles away.
