Ukraine uses naval drones with anti-aircraft missiles (video)
The occupiers showed footage of the interception of a Ukrainian maritime drone with R-73 anti-aircraft missiles that attacked Russian aircraft in the Black Sea.
The video was published by Russian media.
In the video, a Ukrainian maritime drone performs maneuvers to evade fire from a Russian Ka-29 helicopter.
An important aspect of this event is the appearance of a superstructure on board the drone that resembles the Soviet R-73 air-to-air missile.
The R-73 is a short-range air-to-air missile, but it can also be launched from ground-based installations. No radar or other systems are required to guide it, as it is equipped with its own thermal homing head.
This missile on board the drone can be distinguished from a similar but earlier R-60 by the specific shape of its tail fin.
The launcher has guides for two missiles. It is highly likely to be stabilized to compensate for pitching and is rotatable. The missile’s GNSS is likely to be used to capture the target.
The Russians released a photo of the drone taken from a helicopter, which shows that one missile is missing. According to them, the drone managed to launch a missile at a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, but missed.
The footage shows that the missiles were carried by a modernized Magura V5 drone. They were used during today’s attack by Russian vessels in the Black Sea.
A special unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate’s Group 13 destroyed a Russian speedboat in the Vuzka Bay near Chornomorske in the western part of the Crimean peninsula.
It is worth noting that the Russian military managed to critically damage the drone in the video, resulting in a powerful explosion. Given this, it can be concluded that the “anti-aircraft naval drones” continue to carry a warhead and can engage enemy ships.
It should be reminded that SeaBaby marine drones used by the SBU special unit are also equipped with launchers for RPV-16 flamethrowers.
