AIM-9 Sidewinder-Armed Ukrainian Drone Boat: What We Know
GUR included the picture of the surface-to-air configured Magura-7 (also sometimes written Magura V7) in recent social media posts, including on X and Facebook, which also highlighted Budanov's interview with TWZ's Howard Altman. Naval News first published the picture on Sunday. How many Magura-7s GUR has at present is unknown.
In an exclusive interview with Howard Altman for The War Zone, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, revealed new details about the Black Sea's May 2, 2025 operation.
https://t.co/zOxE1X82LVpic.twitter.com/ThJi6h0Nhf
— Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) May 5, 2025
The picture notably shows the AIM-9s with protective caps over their seekers. The caps may be left in place to help keep the seekers protected from the elements, but some mechanism would then be required to remotely remove them before launch. The possibility has also been raised that the caps could point to the image showing an initial test of the platform, which is also very possible.
The Magura-7 in the picture we now have has at least three rectangular satellite communications antennas, one at the bow end and two toward the stern, as well as various other fairings that could contain additional sensors or other equipment. Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels (USV) have typically been observed with a mix of communications antennas and electro-optical and/or infrared cameras to help with navigation and targeting.
When engaging aerial threats with AIM-9Ms, the Magura-7 would require sensors capable of scanning the skies to provide initial cueing for the missiles. GUR released the video below, which it says shows the view from an infrared camera during one of the recent claimed Su-30 shootdowns, but a sensor of this kind is not plainly visible in the image we now have in hand. One possibility is that it could be absent in the picture for operational security reasons. And is that it was not mounted during tests, if the picture shown was taken early in the development of this drone boat-missile combination.
GUR has already fielded another type of drone boat armed with Soviet-era R-73 air-to-air missiles for use in the anti-air role that uses an infrared camera for target acquisition and cuing, as seen in the video below. This could be the same sensor used in conjunction with the AIM-9M on the Magura-7. Infrared cameras are also a common feature on other improvised air defense systems in service in Ukraine and elsewhere globally that use repurposed infrared-guided air-to-air missiles as surface-to-air interceptors.
The AIM-9Ms on the Magura-7 are loaded on aircraft-style launch rails that would be elevated before launch, but do not appear to provide any lateral traverse. This is significant since, as TWZ has pointed out previously, the M variant of the Sidewinder lacks the high-off-boresight (HOBS) capabilities of the aforementioned R-73.
Missiles with HOBS engagement capability feature articulating seekers that make it easier for them to lock onto dynamic targets when loaded on a fixed launch rail. As such, the AIM-9M-armed Magura-7 looks as if it would have to be physically pointed relatively precisely in the direction of the target before launch. Meeting the parameters for a successful intercept from this platform could be very challenging, especially with the added factor of the drone boat bouncing up and down on the waves. Getting the targeted aircraft at the right height and distance to enter into the seeker's more limited viewing envelope wouldn't be that easy and it may require some amount of luck, at least based on the general launcher configuration we are seeing.
It is worth pointing out here that the United States developed ground-based and naval air defense systems called Chaparral and Sea Chaparral during the Cold War that were armed with derivatives of fixed-seeker AIM-9 variants called MIM-72s. Both of those systems featured turreted launchers to help with target acquisition and cuing.
When it comes to the Magura-7 itself, based on the AIM-9M's length of just over nine feet (2.85 meters), it looks to be around 23 to 26 feet (seven to eight meters) long. This would make it distinctly larger than the Magura-5 (or Magura V5) drone boat also in GUR service, which has a reported length of 18 feet (5.5 meters). How the Magura-7 performance compares to the Magura-5, which reportedly has a top speed of 42 knots, a cruising speed of 22 knots, and a range of 450 nautical miles, is unknown. It is not known whether Magura-7s exist in any other configurations, including as kamikaze drone boats.
The Magura-5 was originally developed for kamikaze attacks, but has also been used as the aforementioned launch platform for adapted R-73 air-to-air missiles in the surface-to-air role. In December, GUR also claimed to have shot down a Russian Mi-8 Hip-series helicopter with a drone boat-launched R-73.
Magura-5s may also be configured to launch first-person-view (FPV) type kamikaze drones for attacks ashore. For years now, Ukraine has been using a steadily growing array of uncrewed surface vessels (USV) configured as kamikaze drone boats and armed with other weapons against Russian warships, as well as bridges and coastal infrastructure. The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU, also known by its Ukrainian abbreviation SBU) has also fielded a version of its Sea Baby series of USVs armed with a 14.5 mm KPVT machine gun in a remote weapon station, which it claims it has used to engage Russian combat jets and helicopters, as well as patrol boats, as seen in the video below.
Though it is unclear how wide a capability AIM-9M-armed Magura-7s might be at present, they do represent a new threat to fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters operating over and around the Black Sea that Russian forces now have to take into account. For fast jets, the new anti-air drone boats would have to first catch the aircraft at lower altitudes. For context, Chaparral/Sea Chaparral's maximum engagement altitude is reportedly around 10,000 feet.
At the same time, as Ukrainian drone boat capabilities have grown, Russian fighters and helicopters have been increasingly employed on counter-USV missions involving direct attacks using guns and other unguided munitions, which require flying at lower altitudes. USVs armed with AIM-9Ms (and R-73s) could leverage this dynamic to bait enemies into range.
The new anti-air drone boats offer a useful addition to Ukraine's air defense arsenal overall, and one that opens up a use for an additional source of interceptors. Ukraine was previously known to have received an unknown number of AIM-9Ms from the United States and potentially other foreign partners, but this is the first confirmed instance of those missiles being utilized in any way.
The Sidewinders could also be used as part of Ukraine's array of so-called FrankenSAM ground-based air defense systems or as armament for its new F-16 Viper fighters. Ukrainian forces have already publicly fielded a number of FrankenSAM systems that use R-73 air-to-air missiles as their interceptors.
With GUR having now officially released a picture of an AIM-9M-toting Magura-7 after having disclosed its existence to TWZ, more details about the drone boat may now begin to emerge.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
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