MAGURA (V5 / V7)

The Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus V-type (MAGURA) is a class of Ukrainian multipurpose unmanned surface vehicles (USV) developed for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR). Development began after the HUR contracted private companies that had previously designed USVs for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The Ukrainian government announced the project in November 2022, and the system was first presented at the International Defence Industry Fair in Istanbul, Turkey, in July 2023. Unlike the SBU's Sea Baby USV, which targets stationary objects, the smaller MAGURA is designed to strike warships at sea. In August 2023, the drones were delivered to the 385th USV Brigade, operated by HUR and SBU personnel. From January 2025, developers produced a variant armed with modified AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for surface-to-air operations. In 2025, the US company Red Cat announced it would produce the MAGURA V7 for the American military market.

The MAGURA class is designed for surveillance, reconnaissance, patrolling, search and rescue, mine countermeasures, maritime security, and combat missions. The platform includes an autopilot system, video subsystems, night vision equipment, redundant communication modules, and a combat module, supported by a ground-based autonomous control station, transportation and storage equipment, and a data center. There are three variants in the class: the original MAGURA V5; the MAGURA V6P multirole USV; and the MAGURA V7, an enlarged version powered by a diesel engine and configured with either a turret-mounted machine gun or anti-aircraft missiles.

In operational service, MAGURA drones destroyed a Serna-class landing craft and an Akula-class landing craft in Chornomorske, Crimea, in November 2023. On 1 February 2024, several MAGURA V5 drones sank the Tarantul-III class missile corvette Ivanovets near Lake Donuzlav. On 14 February 2024, MAGURA V5 drones sank the landing ship Tsezar Kunikov near Alupka, and on 5 March 2024, they sank the patrol ship Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait. The drones destroyed two KC-701 Tuna-type boats on 30 May 2024 and a KS-701 Tunets boat on 10 August 2024. In aerial engagements, an adapted MAGURA V5 shot down a Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter near Cape Tarkhankut on 31 December 2024. On 2 May 2025, MAGURA V7 drones shot down two Su-30SM fighter jets west of Novorossiysk. The US Army's 1st Special Forces Group deployed a MAGURA USV on Batan Island during the Balikatan exercises in the Philippines on 2 May 2026. On 5 June 2026, a MAGURA V5 drone exploded in the port of Constanța, Romania, after losing control due to electronic warfare.