Ukrainian sea drone shoots down Russian helicopter in historic first
Near Cape Tarkhankut, off the coast of Crimea, a Ukrainian Magura V5 maritime drone shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. This is likely the first such instance in history. Furthermore, the Ukrainians also struck a second Russian helicopter, though the damaged aircraft managed to return to base.
Ukrainian intelligence reports an impressive operation using Magura V5 maritime drones. The machines, measuring 5.5 metres long and weighing about 1,000 kilograms, with approximately 200 kilograms allocated to the warhead, were deployed to the Crimea region, where the Russians detected them.
To neutralise the intruders, the Russians dispatched two Mi-8 helicopters, among other things. However, the Ukrainians were prepared for such developments—some drones were equipped with R-73 air-to-air missiles.
Drone shoots down helicopter
When the helicopters approached the Ukrainian drones, the drones opened fire. The recording shows that one of the helicopters is hit and falls after deploying flares. According to the Ukrainians, the second helicopter was also damaged, but the crew managed to return it to the base.
The brief Ukrainian communiqué lacks details on how the aerial weapon was integrated with the maritime drones. The Magura V5 units are equipped with a module featuring cameras and night vision and can transmit up to three different video streams to the control centre.
The information about arming the drones with R-73 missiles, named SeaDragon, suggests that weapons intended for aircraft were somehow integrated with the remotely controlled, floating platforms, and their "maritime" version received its own distinctive name. Wirtualna Polska journalist Karolina Modzelewska first reported on integrating this weapon with Magura drones as early as May 2024.
R-73 missile
The R-73 missile is a Soviet counterpart to the American AIM-9 Sidewinder, developed in the 1970s. It is a short-range, heat-seeking missile, nearly 3 metres long and weighing slightly more than 100 kilograms.
Its range is estimated at about 30 kilometres when launched from an aircraft, but it is likely significantly less when launched from sea level.
