Eight Russian ships destroyed by a single type of drone boat. That is the tally a Polish study published in July 2024 attached to the Magura V5, which it said hit 14 vessels in all. The mechanics here are simple enough: Ukraine has no conventional navy worth the name, so it built a cheap one out of unmanned surface craft.
The Magura V5 is 5.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. Its cruising speed is 40.7 kilometers per hour and it tops out at 77.8. Range runs to about 833 kilometers, enough for the craft to weigh targets inside an 800-kilometer radius. The study’s authors described it as a drone “used for reconnaissance and destruction of enemy targets,” and reported that Ukrainian military intelligence had fitted R-73 missiles to some of them.
Their verdict was blunt. “MAGURA became the first unmanned vehicle in the world to completely destroy enemy ships.” Unofficial estimates put the damage to the Russian fleet above $500 million.
The second boat
The Sea Baby comes from a different shop. The Security Service of Ukraine operates and develops it, and Defense Express traces its path from experimental prototype to a mass-produced weapon. Official specifications, the outlet notes, say it “can cover 1,000 km to the mission area carrying up to 1 ton of payload and even return to the base all on its own.”
Payloads vary. Variants carry a remotely controlled turret with a 7.62mm PKT machine gun, larger guns with ballistic computers for anti-aircraft work, sea mines (a variant created in 2023), or 122mm rockets borrowed from BM-21 Grad launchers. Defense Express credits the boat with hits on roughly 11 Russian warships and the Crimean Bridge. Sea-mine versions damaged the Samum air cushion missile ship and the Pavel Derzhavin patrol ship, both destroyed in 2024.
The catch for Moscow is cost. Newer Sea Babies have a plainer hull made mostly of fiberglass, which Defense Express says “simplifies the manufacturing process and makes it much cheaper.” Earlier generations used heavier parts, likely metal, and a more complex shape.
Control has moved on too. The latest version carries Starlink receivers as its primary link and Kymeta satellite antennas as backup, so operators can sit far from the water.
Put the two programs side by side and the pattern is plain. One boat has a documented kill record, the other is cheap to build and flexible to arm. Neither needs a crew.
Sources
- MAGURA V5 Drone Most Effective Against Russian Ships, Polish Study Says (Kyiv Post)
- All Upgrades to Ukraine's Sea Baby Naval Drone Analyzed (Defense Express)
