Ukraine in the past three years has developed a wide range of drones and robotic weapons that have been deployed against Russian forces with a deadly effect.
The latest addition to this remote-controlled arsenal is the Magura V7, a system of house weapons that launches anti-aircraft missiles from a 24-foot remote-controlled vessel boat. General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the military intelligence agency of Ukraine, presented it to journalists on May 14.
The system killed two Russian war aircraft SU-30 last month, according to the Ukrainian agency and independent analysts, in what is considered the very first successful use in combat by a drone boat against a fighter plane. Russia did not recognize the sure strokes, but one was reported by Vladislav Shurygin, a Russian military expert.
The use of new systems is part of Ukraine’s broader innovation involving drones and their use. Last weekend, Ukraine struck aerodromes from East Siberia to the western border of Russia with a drone swarm that he said that he secretly planted on Russian territory. It was one of the most daring strikes in the Ukrainian War of Forces. Although drones of this type were used before, the aerodrome attack was the first time that they were deployed hidden on board trucks and transported by land to launch sites deep in Russia.
New marine drones are a technological and tactical innovation.
The new drones that have been presented to journalists looks like elegant green speedboatsWith missiles mounted on the sides and an electronic eye in the center. In December, Ukraine said that an earlier version of new drones had shot two Russian mid-8 helicopters in the Black Sea.
The weapon, one of its operators explained during the presentation on May 14, can dwell for free water days, follow Russian fighter planes, then ambuscate them.
