A Ukrainian-developed Magura unmanned surface vessel (USV) was used to sink a target ship during the US-Philippine Balikatan 2026 military exercises, highlighting the growing international interest in combat-proven maritime drone technology.
Defence Blog reported on this.
The target vessel was struck and sunk off the western coast of Itbayat, a municipality in the Philippines’ Batanes province. The drone was launched by Green Berets from the 1st Special Forces Group under the US Special Operations Command.
The strike formed part of Maritime Strike-North, a live-fire training event conducted by US and Philippine special operations forces in the Batanes archipelago. The island chain lies in the Luzon Strait, around 160 km south of Taiwan, making it a strategically important location in the Indo-Pacific region.
Images released from the exercise indicate that the platform used closely resembled the Magura V7, the latest and most capable variant in the Magura family of maritime drones.
UFORCE, the developer and manufacturer of the Magura series, emphasized that it remains the sole producer of Magura-class platforms and has not issued licenses or manufacturing permits to third parties in any country.
According to UFORCE CEO Oleg Rogynskyi, the deployment demonstrates how operational lessons gained in Ukraine are being adapted for use in other regions.
“We took the lessons learned in Ukraine and refined them to meet Western requirements, incorporating expert knowledge and a deep understanding of operational needs across multiple theaters,” Rogynskyi said.
He added that the company is expanding production capacity internationally, including in the United States and Asia, while maintaining a primary focus on supporting Ukrainian requirements.
The exercise follows another notable appearance of the platform earlier this year. During the NATO REPMUS/Dynamic Messenger 2025 exercises, a multinational naval task group led by the Ukrainian Navy used Magura V7 drones to simulate attacks that successfully “sank” at least one allied frigate.
Magura V7
Developed by UFORCE, the Magura V7 is significantly larger than the earlier Magura V5 and has been designed as a multi-role maritime platform.
The vessel features a 7.2-meter fiberglass hull and a total displacement of approximately 3,400 kg, around two tonnes heavier than its predecessor. The increased size enables a substantially larger payload while also improving operational flexibility.
The platform has a cruising speed of 23 knots and can reach speeds of at least 39 knots. Its seaworthiness has also been enhanced, allowing operations in sea state 3 conditions, compared with sea state 2 for the Magura V5.
Endurance was another major focus of the redesign. The drone can operate for at least 48 hours on internal fuel and for up to seven days when supported by an onboard generator.
With fuel capacity increased to 1,200 litres and powered by a 270-horsepower diesel engine, the Magura V7’s range has expanded to 800 nautical miles (around 1,500 km), compared with 450 nautical miles for the previous model.
The platform can carry payloads of up to 650 kg, enabling a variety of mission configurations. These may include a strike payload combined with additional systems such as a remotely operated machine-gun station or a twin launcher for surface-to-air missiles.
