A new size asset in kyiv’s game? The Ukrainian military intelligence services announced last Sunday that it had successively shot down two Russian combat aircraft in the Black Sea thanks to missiles from a naval drone: the Magura V7, unveiled for the first time on a battlefield.
“The Russian aggressive state fighter caught fire in the air and finally damaged the sea,” said Ukrainian information. The Gur broadcast the images of the destruction of the first device. We see the targeting then the driving of the shot from the naval drone, then the fall of the fighting aircraft in the sea.
“For the first time in the world, our warriors have destroyed an enemy fighting plane thanks to a Naval Magura drone,” said Ukrainian information (GUR), who identified the devetus devices as Soukhoï su-30.
American air-air missiles
Russia has not recognized the loss of its hunters, but the Russian blogger Rybar, close to the Kremlin, confirmed the first attack. “The pilots were ejected and were recovered by civilian sailors. Both are alive, and too bad for the plane, “he said, relayed by the OPEX360 media.
The Magura V7 is an enlarged and improved version of its little brother, the Magura V5, used to hit enemy ships with an explosive load. Lieutenant-general Ukrainian Kyrylo Budanov, interviewed by The War Zone, refused to specify the differences between the two missiles. With its 8 m long, the V7 has better sea holding, useful for winter operations, according to the Naval News specialized media.
The Magura V7, equipped with multiple communication sensors and antennas, used during the attack on Air-Air Aim-9 Sidewinder missiles, supplied by the United States. They are loaded aboard the drone on launch tracks, which are raised just before the shooting. “It is a naval drone, on which they adapted anti -aircraft missiles guided by infrared,” commented on LCI the aeronautical specialist Xavier Tytelman.
We do not know if the Magura V7 can use other missiles than AIM-9. Both on the side of kyiv and Moscow, drones are one of the most used weapons on the battlefield. They can make it possible to target ammunition warehouses, planes, boats, command posts or aerial bases located hundreds of kilometers.
Russia said it would observe a three-day ceasefire from May 8 to 10, during the commemorations of victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Ukraine has not clearly said if it intended to follow this truce announced by President Vladimir Putin.
