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Ukrainian Sea Drones shot down two Russian Su-30s
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) shot down two Russian Sukhoi Su-30 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-C) fighter jets by means of AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles fired from Magura-7 uncrewed surface vessels (USV, sea drones or drone boats for short) near Novorossiysk on May 2, HUR chief Kyrylo Budanov told The War Zone.
Noteworthy this was the first unmanned boats have shot down fighter jets.
The operation marks the first time in history that fighter jets have been downed by unmanned boats. Budanov explained that two Su-30s were shot down.
“It’s a historical moment,” he told.
The feat was undertaken by a HUR special operations unit, designated Group 13. As noted by The Kyiv Independent, a clip (below) of the first downed Su-30 was released and widely shared on social media, though no visual evidence of the second strike has emerged.
A civilian vessel rescued the crew of the first Su-30 while the second crew is believed to have been killed Budanov said. However, HUR claimed that the aircraft were hit midair and crashed into the Black Sea.
Ukraine has repeatedly used maritime drones to inflict heavy losses on Russian assets in the Black Sea. The Magura drones sank the Russian patrol ship Sergey Kotov on Mar 5, 2024, and the landing ship Caesar Kunikov on Feb. 14, 2024.
Flanker-C
The Su-30 (Flanker-C) Russian Multirole Fighter Aircraft is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weather, air-to-air, and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions. The Su-30 started out as an internal development project in the Sukhoi Su-27 family by Sukhoi. The design plan was revamped and the name was made official by the Russian Defense Ministry in 1996.
Of the Flanker family, the Su-27, Su-30, Su-33, Su-34, and Su-35 have been ordered into limited or serial production by the Defense Ministry. The Su-30 has two distinct version branches, manufactured by competing organizations: KnAAPO and the Irkut Corporation, both of which come under the Sukhoi group’s umbrella.
Magura V7
The Magura V7 drone, deployed in this operation, is an air defense type of the Magura V5, which previously downed two Russian Mi-8 helicopters on Dec. 31.
Initially it was believed that a Magura V5 but Naval News confirmed that a larger Magura V7 armed with AIM-9 Sidewinders was used instead. This represented the first time that the V7 variant has been revealed to the public.
The Magura V7 is different from the V5 used to carry AA-11 Archer missiles (this last configuration being known as Sea Dragon). That was a wider hull with large fixed launch rails. The V5 baseline mode is aimed at ramming enemy ships with an explosive charge. The V7 is larger than the V5 being approximately 8 meters (26 feet) long compared the the V5 at 5.5 meters (18 feet).
While the Sea Dragon can be seen as the prototype, the V7 represents a mature capability compared to the V5. It is not clear if it is exclusively armed with Sidewinder missiles or can carry other weapons.
The Magura V7 shares similar lines to the V5 version but has a reshaped bow: in fact, does not seem to feature an explosive charge in the bow, due to the lack of impact detonators, but this may be configurable.
