Design and capabilities
The Magura V5 - Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus - is an unmanned surface vessel developed for Ukraine's Defence Intelligence directorate (HUR), first shown publicly in July 2023. It measures roughly 5.5 metres long and 1.5 metres wide, with a low, hydrodynamic hull shaped to reduce its radar signature. Reported top speed is around 78 km/h with a range up to 800 kilometres, and it can carry an explosive payload variously reported at 300 to 320 kilograms. Navigation is satellite-guided with optical cameras for operator confirmation, and units are typically deployed in coordinated groups. An armed configuration known as Sea Dragon fits the V5 with infrared-guided R-73 air-to-air missiles, used to shoot down Russian helicopters sent to hunt the drones from the air. A larger successor, the Magura V7, extends length to 7.2 metres and range to roughly 1,500 kilometres, and carries Western AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles; HUR credits it with downing two Russian Su-30 fighter jets directly from the water.
Operational history
Since 2023, Magura-class drones have been credited by Ukrainian and regional reporting with damaging or sinking more than 17 Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels, including the corvette Ivanovets and the patrol ship Sergey Kotov. On 2 May 2026, a Magura unit was reportedly used by United States Green Berets from the 1st Special Forces Group during the Balikatan 2026 exercise in the Philippines, an early sign of allied interest in the platform beyond the Black Sea.
AirVeto context
On 5 June 2026, a naval drone assessed by a Romanian naval officer as most likely a Magura-type - though Romania's defence ministry would confirm only that it was "a drone used in the war in Ukraine," without naming a model or nationality - was discovered near berth 77–78 of the Port of Constanța and self-detonated around 10:28 a.m. while security forces were still evaluating it. No one was hurt; the day's total came to four naval-drone incidents in Romanian waters, including the port drone. Ukraine subsequently confirmed the drone was its own, saying Russian electronic warfare had diverted it off its intended course - the same jamming mechanism documented in several Baltic airspace incidents, applied here to a maritime target. Some Romanian reporting has suggested visible hull features may indicate a newer Magura V7-family variant rather than the original V5, but official confirmation of the exact model has not been published - treat "Magura-family" as the safer description pending that confirmation.