Air War in Ukraine - Naval Drone Destroys Russian Fighter Jet

In today's continuation of the series, we focus on the period from May 1 to May 31. Both sides intensified the drone war, with Russia especially increasing its activity in the latter half of the period. Ukraine, on the other hand, achieved another breakthrough: it became the first country in the world to shoot down a supersonic fighter jet using a missile launched from a naval drone – and they downed two at once.

Miro Barič

Naval Drone Destroys Russian Fighter Jet

In today's continuation of the series, we focus on the period from May 1 to May 31.

Both sides intensified the drone war, with Russia especially increasing its activity

in the latter half of the period. Ukraine, on the other hand, achieved another

breakthrough: it became the first country in the world to shoot down a supersonic

fighter jet using a missile launched from a naval drone – and they downed two at once.

Aerial War in Ukraine

In the previous period, several videos

appeared showing successful Ukrainian

attacks on Russian radars and air defense

missile systems. Ukrainians likely concluded

that Russian air defenses had been weakened

and launched a large-scale drone attack on

naval and air bases in Crimea during the night

from Thursday, May 1 to Friday, May 2. Explosions

were heard in Sevastopol, Dzhankoy, Saki,

Novofedorivka, and other locations. Ukrainian

drones also attacked in the opposite direction.

In Russia’s Stavropol Krai, 450 km from the

front line, they hit base No. 33443 named

Zvezda, used by Russian military intelligence

(GRU) to intercept electronic communications

from Western satellites.

A similar attack occurred the following

night, May 2 to 3. Ukrainians launched over 170

drones, three Neptune cruise missiles, and

eight Storm Shadow missiles. Also involved

were 14 Magura naval drones. Targets were

struck in Crimea and in Russia's Rostov,

Krasnodar, Bryansk, Belgorod, and Krasnodar

regions. One of the main targets was the naval

base in Novorossiysk. And that’s where the

breakthrough happened.

Magura Equipped with AIM-9X

Ukrainian military intelligence unit Group

13 has been successfully using Magura naval

drones for some time. Initially, they attacked

only ships, but Russia began using helicopters

and later fighters against the drones.

So, the Maguras were fitted with machine

guns and later air-defense missiles. Group 13

has recorded 17 naval and aerial hits, of which

15 were confirmed destroyed. Besides ships,

they’ve destroyed two Mi-8 helicopters and,

most recently, two Su-30 fighter jets.

This naval drone comes in various versions.

The Magura V5 is designed for ship destruction;

the V7 version carries machine guns and

missiles. The V7 is significantly larger:

7.2 meters long and weighs 3,400 kg — two

tons more than the V5. The larger size enables

operation in rougher seas and bigger diesel

tanks extended the range from 450 to 800

nautical miles (about 1,500 km). The top speed

is 39 knots.

Previously, the Magura carried Soviet-made

R-73 missiles. For this mission however, it

was equipped with the latest US-made AIM-9X

Sidewinder missiles. Using this missile during

the night of May 2, over the Black Sea near

Magura naval drones. V7 version is on the left, smaller V5 version on the right.

UKRAINE

INFO Eduard20

July 2025