Ukraine Naval Drones Get a Deadly Air-to-Air Missile Upgrade: Reports

Ukraine's military has adapted its naval drones to carry air-to-air Soviet missiles, new footage published by Russian state news agency Tass suggests.

Tass and Russia's Defense Ministry released footage on May 6 showing a Russian Ka-29 helicopter firing at a Ukrainian naval drone that appeared to be armed with R-73 air-to-air anti-aircraft missiles in the Black Sea.

Ukraine has used its Magura V5 attack marine drones on multiple occasions to target Russia's Black Sea Fleet as part of its ongoing efforts to reclaim the Black Sea peninsula, which was annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet has suffered extensive casualties throughout the full-scale war in Ukraine. On Monday, Kyiv's military intelligence said Ukrainian forces destroyed a high-speed boat in the Uzka Bay in Crimea using a Magura V5 attack marine drone.

The footage released by Russian state media showed the Ukrainian naval drone move to avoid being struck by shelling from the Russian Ka-29 helicopter.

Militarnyi, a Ukrainian military media outlet, said Monday that the marine drone appeared to be equipped with the Soviet air-to-air anti-aircraft missile R-73, which can be launched from ground-based installations.

"The footage shows that the carrier of the missiles was a modernized Magura V5 drone. They were used during today's attack by Russian ships in the Black Sea," the outlet said.

The footage was also shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Rob Lee, a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

"Ukraine's GUR said it destroyed a Russian Project 12150 Mangust patrol boat this morning with a Magura V5 naval drone. Footage from the Russian MOD and Russian channels shows a Ka-29 helicopter firing at another naval drone reportedly armed with R-73 air-to-air missiles," he wrote alongside the footage.

Former Ukrainian minister of economic development and trade Tymofiy Mylovanov said: "This is new in the sea drone warfare in Ukraine."

"Ukrainians have adapted marine drones to carry air to air Soviet missiles. Many believe this to be impossible until today, when Russian channels showed evidence," he wrote on X.

"In the video, you can see a Russian helicopter shooting at the Ukrainian marine drone and eventually resorting it. The drone explodes suggesting that it also carried its regular suicide payload. The drone has one missile missing, which indicates it has fired once," Mylovanov said.

He added that we now should expect "a rapid evolution of Ukrainian marine drones to carry other drones, ship missiles, and more air defense."

Newsweek has contacted Ukrainian authorities for comment by email.

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