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Ukraine Turns Magura Sea Drones Into “Floating Aircraft Carriers” to Hunt Russian UAVs
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukraine has tested a new modification of its Magura naval drone that effectively transforms the platform into a launch base for airborne interceptor drones—an approach that could turn these unmanned surface vessels into “floating aircraft carriers” designed to counter hostile UAVs over the Black Sea.
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According to The Economist on March 6, video of the system’s testing was shared by the magazine’s correspondent Oliver Carroll, showing an interceptor drone launching from a container mounted on the deck of a Magura unmanned surface vehicle.
Interceptors automatically flying out of naval drones on detection of incoming targets? Before being piloted to the kill remotely from hundreds of km away? The future Dubai imagines has already been battle tested. In Odesa.
— Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) March 7, 2026
Exclusive video from Uforce, makers of the Magura… pic.twitter.com/5UxmTFoC29
Carroll published the footage on X, where the video shows a container opening on the naval drone before a small interceptor UAV takes off and destroys an airborne target drone used during the test.
“Interceptors automatically flying out of naval drones on detection of incoming targets? Before being piloted to the kill remotely from hundreds of km away? The future Dubai imagines has already been battle tested. In Odesa,” Carroll wrote on X while sharing the footage.
According to The Economist, the test video was provided by UFORCE, the developer of the Magura naval drone platform. The footage shows a fixed-wing target drone being intercepted and destroyed after launch of the airborne interceptor from the naval drone.
The concept suggests that naval drones could serve as forward-deployed launch platforms for interceptor UAVs operating above the Black Sea. Such systems could potentially engage Russian reconnaissance drones or long-range attack UAVs launched from occupied Crimea before they approach Ukrainian coastal cities.
Technical changes visible in the footage indicate that the Magura platform has undergone structural modifications. Launch modules previously located near the stern appear to have been moved toward the center of the deck, while exhaust outlets that were earlier positioned along the sides of the hull have been relocated.
The drone’s optical camera has also been raised higher on a mast, where an onboard navigation radar is now installed.
These changes effectively turn the naval drone into a mobile launch platform for aerial interceptors. According to Ukrainian media reports, the approach could allow interceptor drones to target incoming Shahed-type attack drones directly over the sea rather than waiting for them to reach air defense zones near coastal cities such as Odesa.
Earlier, a Russian Kamov Ka-27 helicopter was destroyed by an FPV drone launched from a Ukrainian naval drone in the Black Sea. The strike occurred near the Syvash offshore platform, marking a rare instance of a helicopter being hit by a drone deployed from a naval unmanned platform.
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