Ukraine over the past three years has developed a wide range of drones and robotic weapons that have been deployed against Russian forces to deadly effect.
The latest addition to this remote-controlled arsenal is the Magura V7, a homemade weapon system that launches antiaircraft missiles from a 24-foot remote-controlled speedboat. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, presented it to reporters on May 14.
The system shot down two Russian Su-30 warplanes last month, according to the Ukrainian agency and independent analysts, in what is believed to be the first-ever successful use in combat by a drone boat against a fighter jet. Russia has not acknowledged the hits, but one was reported by Vladislav Shurygin, a Russian military expert.
The use of the new systems is part of Ukraine's broader innovation involving drones and their use. Last weekend, Ukraine hit airfields from eastern Siberia to Russia's western border with a swarm of drones that it said it secretly planted on Russian territory. It was one of the war's most audacious strikes by Ukrainian forces. Although drones of that type have been used before, the airfield attack was the first time they had been deployed hidden onboard trucks and transported overland to launch sites deep inside Russia.
The new sea drones are a technological as well as a tactical innovation.
The new drones that were presented to reporters look like sleek green speedboats, with missiles mounted on the sides and an electronic eye in the center. In December, Ukraine said an earlier version of the new drones shot down two Russian Mi-8 helicopters in the Black Sea.
The weapon, one of its operators explained at the presentation on May 14, can linger for days in the open water, tracking Russian fighter jets and then ambushing them.
Ukraine said the new drones were a significant upgrade of current abilities because they can fire air-to-air missiles and target jets.
"These drones represent the future," said Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the military intelligence agency, during the presentation of the weapons, which included members of Group 13, the unit that operates the new drones.
Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, said the system was unlikely to be a "game changer" on its own. But, he added, when integrated with other systems, it could have "a considerable impact on the battlefield."
As it fights a war on land, air and sea, Ukraine has used unmanned systems in all areas, partly by tapping a large pool of Ukrainian programmers and tech workers to operate them. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many of them worked in jobs outsourced from Silicon Valley and other technology hubs.
Mounting antiaircraft weapons on sea drones is just the latest development in an unmanned arms race that has come to define the war in Ukraine. Upgrading these weapons has become all the more urgent as Russia steps up its attacks and advances across the battlefield.
Sea drones were initially used to target warships by speeding toward them in swarms of half a dozen. Hitting the hulls triggered half-ton explosive charges on the speedboats. Russia took to searching for and sinking the drones with helicopters, forcing Ukraine to look for new solutions, the Ukrainian military says.
At sea, various versions of the Magura, packed with explosives, have sunk or damaged 16 Russian warships since the beginning of the war, said Mr. Yusov, the military intelligence spokesman. It was not possible to independently verify that tally, but it is in line with the estimates of military analysts.
To shoot down the Russian Su-30 fighters, the new version of the Magura, armed with missiles, accompanied a larger swarm of drones in the sea, according to an officer of the drone group made available to reporters by the intelligence agency at the presentation on May 14. She was identified only by her call sign, Xena, in line with military protocol.
The downing of the jet by the new drone system came in the spring as the weather improved, providing more opportunities to deploy unmanned units in the sea, Xena said.
Operational planning for one mission can take up to a month, during which operators closely monitor Russian ports and ship movements, she said. To maintain secrecy, the drones are launched from different locations each time.
Military experts, including Dr. Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at Royal United Services Institute, and Rob Lee, a senior fellow at Foreign Policy Research Institute, said it was the first time such a system had been used anywhere in the world.
The commander of Group 13 said honing tactics and field testing technology had been extremely difficult because similar unmanned sea weapons had never been deployed before. Neither his rank nor name was made public due to security protocols.
The speedboats can also act as drone "mother ships," carrying and launching small, exploding quadcopters guided by operators, according to Xena and Mr. Yusov,the military intelligence spokesman. These can hit targets at sea or along a shore,theydsaid.
Drone mother ships in air and sea have been increasingly used by Ukraine to extend range of strikes. In March,Ukrainian minister for digital transformation Mykhailo Fedorov released video showing carrier drones dropping attack drones behind front line.
"It is a constant cycle of adaptation on both sides," said Mr.Lee of Foreign Policy Research Institute ,describing new drones and counterattacking measures .