First details of the destruction of two Russian SU-30s in the Black Sea: a new modification of the Magura maritime drone with AIM-9 missiles was used
Yesterday we reported For the first time in history, a Ukrainian Magura maritime drone destroyed a Russian fighter jet during a battle (video), when the Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian SU-30 fighter jet using a missile launched from a Magura maritime drone.
This news attracted huge attention, but it soon became known that two (!) aircraft were shot down, making this operation even more significant.
Today, additional details have emerged.
Here's What We Know
The head of Ukraine's General Directorate of Intelligence (GUR), Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, gave an interview to The War Zone, in which he briefly commented on the successful operation of his subordinates.
Budanov said that three Magura-7 uncrewed boats, which are a modified version of the Magura V5 and are designed to attack air targets, were operating in the waters of the Russian port of Novorossiysk. For this purpose, air-to-air missiles are used, and it is no longer the Soviet R-73 (AA-11 Archer), which, we recall, Unique event: during the sea battle Ukrainian crewless boat Magura V5 destroyed an enemy helicopter for the first time in the history of wars (video), and the American AIM-9 Sidewinder with infrared guidance.
First public photo of Magura 7 with AIM-9 Sidewinder missile
Budanov emphasised that this was the first time fighter jets were shot down by unmanned boats and the first use of AIM-9s from an unmanned boat to destroy the enemy. He called the event a "historic moment."
The head of the GUR said that the crew of one aircraft ejected and was rescued by a civilian vessel, while the pilots of the second SU-30 were killed, according to preliminary information.
The shooting down of one of the SU-30s was confirmed by video, the attack on the second aircraft could not be filmed.
Flashback
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is an American guided air-to-air missile with an infrared homing head. It was adopted by the US Air Force in 1956 and was the first commercially available guided missile of this type. Since then, it has been constantly modernised and remains in service to this day, constantly proving its effectiveness.
The AIM-9 is used in the aviation of many countries and has many modifications, including air-to-surface and surface-to-air versions.
Source: The War Zone, NavalNews
