American defense firm Red Cat has launched full-rate production of a maritime drone, Variant 7 (V7), which began as a partnership with the Ukrainian manufacturer of the Magura V7. The Blue Ops subsidiary now describes the platform as designed, built, and assembled in the US, and credits the design to its own engineers, Defense Express reports.
In May 2025, the company openly acknowledged that it was entering the maritime drone market through a partnership with a company whose drones had logged over 10,000 hours of operating time in live combat missions and had conducted "dozens of successful kinetic engagements against enemy assets, more than any navy since World War II". This language that left no doubt the partner was Ukraine's Intelligence-affiliated Magura builder.
By the time full-rate production was announced on 29 May 2026, public materials credited Blue Ops' engineers and emphasized the US origin of the build.
Designed for mass production
Blue Ops president Barry Hinckley described the V7 as engineered for mass production and a configuration that meets the tasks facing our customers. Company releases emphasize that the drone was designed, built, and assembled in the US and meets internal US national security standards.
Defense Express analysts note that the published technical characteristics of the Red Cat V7, which are a seven-meter hull length, mission profile (deep strike, interdiction, anti-ship warfare, surveillance), and modular payload architecture, match Ukraine's Magura V7 precisely.
Original came from forcing a fleet to retreat
The Magura V7 was unveiled in May 2025 by Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence and built by its Group 13 USV unit, after the platform was credited with downing two Russian Su-30 fighter jets earlier that month. The earlier Magura V5, also Ukrainian-developed, is credited with multiple sinkings of Russian Black Sea Fleet warships.
Ukraine has pioneered modern maritime drone warfare, forcing a major-power fleet from its operating area through expendable, low-cost autonomous craft.
