Ukrainian sea drone downs Russian fighter jet in 'world-first' strike, intelligence says

A Russian Su-30 fighter jet was destroyed by a sea drone strike carried out by Ukraine's military intelligence, marking the first time a sea drone takes down a jet, Ukraine's military intelligence said on May 3.

The intelligence agency, HUR, said the unprecedented operation took place on May 2 near the Russian port of Novorossiysk in the Black Sea and published the video of the strike. The strike was carried out by Group 13, a special unit within HUR, using a Magura sea drone equipped with a missile warhead.

"This is the world's first destruction of a combat aircraft by a naval drone," the statement read.

The Kyiv Independent can't independently confirm the Ukrainian intelligence report.

The multi-role Su-30 fighter, valued at approximately $50 million, was reportedly hit in midair and crashed into the sea.

The operation was conducted in coordination with Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the country’s defense forces, according to the intelligence agency.

Ukraine had previously used the Magura V5 drone to down two Russian Mi-8 helicopters on Dec. 31, 2024, in what was then considered a world-first drone strike on airborne targets from the sea.

Overnight on May 3, local Russian officials claimed that a Ukrainian drone attack on Krasnodar Krai injured four people, and damaged homes and a grain terminal in Novorossiysk. A state of emergency was declared in the city, while the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that over 170 Ukrainian drones and several naval drones were intercepted across Crimea and the Black Sea.