The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has clarified in its latest report that during the battle near Cape Tarkhankut (temporarily occupied Crimea), the Magura V5 naval drones, using missile weaponry, managed to shoot down actually two Mi-8 helicopters of the Russian occupying forces, resulting in the loss of their crews, while another damaged helicopter managed to "make it" back to its airfield.
Prior to this, it was believed that during the clash on December 31, 2024, near Cape Tarkhankut, our naval drones had, for the first time in history, shot down one enemy helicopter and damaged another.
In this context, we at Defense Express want to emphasize the following points, which highlight the significance of the aforementioned story.
First of all, it is worth noting that the clarification regarding the downing of actually two, rather than one, Mi-8 helicopters of the Russian occupying forces in Crimea provides insight not only into the fact that the enemy has lost two units of aviation equipment. It also indicates the real level of effectiveness achieved through the improvements made to the missile variant of the Magura V5 naval drones.
How challenging such work could be, and what was actually behind the scenes of how the GUR MOU is making history, including the details of how a helicopter was shot down by a naval drone for the first time, we have already explained in a separate publication. But to summarize briefly, this story required "upgrading" all elements, starting from the control systems of the naval drones to the adaptation of the R-73 missiles for use in a maritime environment.
Particularly noteworthy is the detail regarding the number of enemy helicopters that were shot down and damaged. It is likely that both downed Mi-8s and another damaged helicopter, which "made it" back to its airfield, found themselves in the path of our naval drones not by chance; these Russian helicopters could have been involved in patrolling the Black Sea waters, especially since the Russians regularly practice this.
It is quite probable that the Russians themselves expected that a patrol consisting of three Mi-8s would be sufficient to attempt to hinder our naval drones from completing their mission, but in this case, the enemy miscalculated.
This also indicates that the operators of the naval drones outmaneuvered the enemy both in terms of tactical preparation, which in turn allowed them to fully reveal the technical enhancements made to the missile variant of the Magura V5 naval drones.