Thanks to some Turkish fishermen, we are getting a pretty good look at a Ukrainian Magura drone boat they found last night. Also known as an uncrewed surface vessel (USV), the Maguras have become a key component in Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet (BSF). It was found days after a video emerged on social media showing a claimed Russian capture of another Magura, which you can read more about later in this story.
This explosive-laden Magura was found offshore near the town of Çarşıbaşı, according to Turkish authorities. The town is located about 900 miles from Ukrainian-held territory on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. The location is about 600 miles southeast of the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, where Ukraine has carried out the bulk of its USV attacks.
“Our fishermen found a fiber boat at sea last night and brought it to the port,” the Turkish IHA media outlet reported on Tuesday. “Authorities came and inspected it. It was determined that there was a bomb inside. The boat is sitting in our port. Our fishermen cannot enter the port; we have closed the port to fishermen, and we are suffering because of this. The bomb squad is coming. We are waiting for them.”
IHA and Russian Telegram channels described the USV as a Magura V5 model, which seems to line up with what we have seen in previous imagery, given the location of the electro-optical turret in relation to the bow.
As you can see in the following video and image, the Magura has the aforementioned gyro-stabilized electro-optical turret. In addition, it appears there are two planar satellite antenna arrays atop the hull.
A third satcom antenna array can be seen on the broken riser.
Though originally designed and used primarily as a kamikaze drone boat, GUR has used several variants of the Maguras to perform different functions. They include launching first-person view (FPV) and bomber drones, firing machine guns and serving as a platform for anti-aircraft missiles. The one recovered in Turkey did not appear to have FPV drone launchers, missile rails or gun turrets.
Last December, GUR claimed it fired an adapted R-73 (AA-11 Archer) air-to-air missile from a Magura V5 to down a Russian Mi-8 Hip helicopter over the Black Sea. It marked the first known time a USV had ever shot down an aircraft. The attack is visible in the following video.
Ukraine also claimed it began to launch FPVs from its Maguras back in January. In early May 2025, we were the first to report that (GUR) used its newer Magura V7 USV, armed with a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles, to shoot down a pair of Russian Su-30 Flanker fighters flying over the Black Sea. That attack was also captured on video.
This is not the first Magura variant that Ukraine has lost control of. Images showing up on social media over the years show the evolution of these weapons, with improved optics, guidance systems and increased length.
Our first glimpse of Ukraine’s USVs came in September 2022, when photos showed up on X a month before sea drones began to become Ukraine’s weapon of choice against the BSF. The USV was recovered near the city of Sevastopol, home to the headquarters of the BSF.
In October 2022, Ukraine launched the first in a wave of what would be a game-changing campaign, using USVs and aerial drones to attack Sevastopol. Since then, drone boats have been used numerous times against targets.
You can see a portion of that attack in the following video.
Images of another captured Magura were seen on X in November 2023. It was captured intact by Russia in western Crimea, Russian milbloggers reported on Telegram. It was attempting to attack Russian ships in western Crimea “when it fell into Russian hands,” the Russian Military Informant Telegram channel stated. In commenting on the capture, the Two Majors Telegram channel offered an ominous warning: “Soon a surprise will await the enemy,” a seeming indication that Russia might work to reverse engineer this USV. At the very least, they will pull it apart to gain any new intelligence they can, especially in regards to how they can disrupt their communications and what kind of drones they are using to attack targets on land.
Just a few days before the Turkish fishermen found the Magura, an undated video emerged online of what was claimed to be one captured by the Russians. It appeared to be outfitted with canisters for launching FPV drones. However, the location of the video and when it was captured remain unclear.
As we previously noted, Ukraine’s early drone boat attacks on the BSF were a “wakeup call,” marking a new point in unmanned warfare. These attacks have proven that a nation with nearly no significant remaining traditional navy but an array of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) can keep one of the world’s largest navies at bay.
Ukraine’s drone boat attacks have pinned down the BSF, keeping it largely away from Crimea and putting it at risk even in Russia’s eastern Black Sea ports. These attacks have removed larger Russian naval assets from operating in the northwestern Black Sea totally.
It is unknown what Turkish authorities will do with the drone boat that was recovered. At the very least, the fishermen will have a cool story to tell about the one that didn’t get away.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
