Bloomberg: The US first used Ukrainian “Magura V5” naval drones during exercises in the Philippines

The US military has used Ukrainian “Magura V5” naval drones for the first time during exercises in the Indo-Pacific region. During maneuvers in the Philippines, the drones attacked a decommissioned target ship.

This is reported by Bloomberg, whose journalists received video confirmation of the attack.

The video shows a “Magura” unmanned surface vehicle crashing into a target vessel, marking the first use of this class of drones outside of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“Magura V5” was developed by the Ukrainian company “Uforce”. Ukrainian troops have repeatedly successfully attacked ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet with these naval drones. In total, during the Great War, according to the companyʼs CEO Oleg Roginsky, “Magura” managed to sink about ten Russian warships.

Experts believe that naval drones could play an increasingly important role in potential conflicts in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly around Taiwan. Their advantages include their relatively low cost and the ability to operate in high-risk areas without endangering the crews.

According to Bloomberg, the United States, China, Japan and other countries are actively developing and testing surface and underwater unmanned systems. The US military predicts that by 2030, thousands of small maritime drones could be deployed in the Indo-Pacific region.

At the same time, Oleg Roginsky said that “Uforce” is already negotiating with several countries in the region about supplying “Magura” and is considering the possibility of opening at least two production facilities in Asia.

What is known about the “Magura V5” drone?

The “Magura V5” is a multi-purpose maritime drone capable of conducting reconnaissance, patrolling, search and rescue, mine countermeasures, naval security and combat missions.

For the first time, Ukraine presented a naval drone at a defense exhibition in Turkey in July 2023.

Its length is 5.5 m and its width is 1.5 m. The maximum speed reaches over 77 kmph. The device can carry up to 320 kg of load and operate within a radius of 830 km.

During a full-scale war, Ukraine actively uses “Magura V5” drones to attack Russian targets. For example, on December 31, 2024, thanks to a “Magura” drone, special forces of the Ukrainian Defense Ministryʼs GUR destroyed two Russian Mi-8 helicopters.

With these same strike drones, the “Group 13” special forces unit destroyed the missile ship “Ivanovets", the large landing ship “Caesar Kunikov", the corvette “Sergei Kotov", and the high-speed patrol boat “Mangust" in the first half of 2024 alone.

And on May 3, 2025, the Ukrainian military, for the first time in the world, destroyed a Russian Su-30 combat aircraft with a strike from a “Magura” naval drone.

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