May 9, 2025, 9:08 pm
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reportedly shot down two Su-30SM multirole fighters with AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-guided air-to-air missiles fired by Magura-7 drone boats.
This marks the first time fighter aircraft has been downed by drone boats and the first use of the AIM-9 from a drone boat for a kill.
The Su-30SM, the aircraft targeted in the attack, is a twin-engine, multi-role fighter jet developed by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. A modernized variant of the Su-27 series, it entered service in the 1990s and is designed for air superiority, ground assault, and maritime strike operations.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said: "For the first time in history, a warplane was destroyed by a sea drone … War at sea is entering a new era."
Viewers may note , this is not the first time Ukraine has said it shot down a Russian aerial asset with a missile fired by a drone boat, but that was not a fighter jet.
In December, Ukraine claimed it used an R-73 fired from an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to down a Russian Mi-8 Hip helicopter over the Black Sea.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how Ukrainian Magura-7 drone boat managed to down Russian Su-30 Flanker ?
#defenseupdates #sukhoi30SMdown #ukrainerussiawar
Chapters:
0:00 TITLE
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:34 SPONSORSHIP – NordVPN
02:08 RUSSIAN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
03:26 MAGURA V7
05:26 AIM-9
07:56 ANALYSIS
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Content Creator – Defense Updates