In a first of its kind of incident, a fighter jet has reportedly been shot down by a sea drone in active war. The incident took place over waters near Novorossiisk when a Russian fighter jet was hit by a Ukrainian sea drone, according to Kyiv’s military.
The Su-30 fighter jet was downed using a missile fired from a seaborne drone. Ukraine’s Group 13, a special unit within HUR, was behind the attack. The team used a Magura sea drone equipped with a missile warhead.
The incident is the world’s first destruction of a combat aircraft by a naval drone. Reports claimed that the Russian Su-30 fighter jet was hit mid-air and crashed into the sea.
Combat aircraft shot by a sea drone
Conducted in coordination with Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the country’s defense forces, the strike operation yielded surprising results during military action.
In December 2024, Ukraine’s Magura V5 drone also shot two Russian Mi-8 helicopters.
On May 3, a clip was shared on Telegram by GUR claiming that the footage showcases the world’s first destruction of a combat aircraft by a sea drone. The post revealed that the GUR unit Group 13, in cooperation with Ukraine’s SBU military intelligence and Ukrainian defense forces conducted the attack.
With an estimated price tag of $50 million, the Su-30 aircraft was struck near the port in Novorossiysk. Russian forces have moved much of its Black Sea Fleet close to this area.
R-73 surface-to-air missile was used
Magura sea drone likely fired the R-73 surface-to-air missile, which burst the aircraft into flames.
Developed by the Ukrainian defense industry, the Magura marine drones are a type of multi-purpose unmanned surface vessel. The drone can perform combat missions, surveillance, reconnaissance, patrol, search and rescue, mine countermeasures, and marine protection operations.
The Kremlin hasn’t made any comment on the incident, but some powerful people close to the Russian Defense Ministry have confirmed the incident.
“Yesterday towards evening, an Su-30 naval aviation fighter jet was shot down by the Ukrainian side 50 kilometres west of Novorossiisk. This was done from an uncrewed boat with an R-73 SAM (surface-to-air missile),” the blogger, who goes by the name Rybar, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“The pilots ejected and were picked up by civilian sailors. Both are alive, and to hell with the plane.”
The incident suggests that not only fighter choppers but even jets can be downed with the help of naval drones.
Russia has used Flankers to counter Ukrainian USVs for a couple of years. And they may have become more important in this role.
In the future, Russian jets may have to remain further away and use much more expensive stand-off weapons to tackle Ukrainian USVs. However, USVs are so small that they present difficult targets for traditional anti-ship weapons. So Russia will now find it harder, and more expensive, to counter the USVs. Other navies might too if they face similar threats.
