Ukraine’s sea drone that never touched the shore struck two Russian radars in occupied Crimea

Ukraine's military intelligence turned its newest sea drones into carriers for FPV strike drones and knocked out two Russian radar targets in occupied Crimea, according to Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR). The strike let its uncrewed boats reach Russian targets on land, a move the unit called a shift of the war to a new plane. HUR released footage of the operation on 3 August.

Sea drones that launched FPV drones onto land

HUR's special unit Group 13 ran the operation in occupied Crimea in late July 2026, the agency reported. The operators used the newest versions of Magura naval platforms, this time set up as FPV-drone carriers, to hit Russian ground targets on the peninsula. It was the first operation to show the newest Magura's effectiveness.

The aerial FPV drones struck a control vehicle from a Russian Podlyot radar system. They also hit a Parol-4 radar interrogator, part of the system Russian forces use to tell friendly aircraft from hostile ones.

The footage opens with a Russian projectile fired from the Crimean coast. It streaks past a Ukrainian naval drone and misses. After a cut, a naval drone fires anti-air missiles. The video then shows an FPV aerial drone launching from a naval drone. Two FPV drones then dive into the two radar targets.

The Maguras that hunted ships now threaten land

The Group 13 commander, callsign Thirteenth, framed the strikes as a turn in the war. 

"From now on our Maguras threaten the Russian occupiers on land too, a fundamental shift of the fight to another plane," he said. 

At sea, Group 13 has destroyed nine Russian ships and damaged five, HUR says. It has also destroyed three enemy helicopters and damaged one, and destroyed two Russian fighter jets.