Drone manufacturer Red Cat Holdings from the United States has officially announced its entry into the market of maritime unmanned systems thanks to cooperation with an unnamed, but leading world-class manufacturer, whose maritime drones are "tested daily in actual combat."
The message does reveal the partner's name or even the country it's from. However, the mentioned facts of the technology having "10,000+ hours of operating time in live combat missions" and "dozens of successful kinetic engagements against enemy assets, more than any navy since World War II," leave no room for doubt. And finally, the technical characteristics of this drone explicitly point to the Magura V7.
Read more: Ukrainian Intelligence Unveils Magura V7 Sea Drone with Air Defense Capabilities
Particularly, in its size — 7 meters long — and other aspects it is completely identical to the Magura-series unmanned surface vessels created by an undisclosed Ukrainian company and operated by Group 13 from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. The agency has recently presented the lineup of these combat USVs including the latest Magura V7 for direct surface-to-surface and surface-to-air engagements, the multifunctional Magura V6P, and the famed Magura V5 credited with multiple sinkings of russian warships in the Black Sea.
Now, the production in the U.S., according to Red Cat, should begin in the third quarter of 2025. It is emphasized that "all USV production will be based in the United States, directly supporting American manufacturing revitalization and job creation in alignment with national economic priorities."
The expansion of Magura USV into foreign markets has been long anticipated, and doing so through a partnership with a U.S. company is one of the few options for entering the American arena. Because the Pentagon buys 99% of its weapons only from local companies or American branches of foreign manufacturers.
This form of cooperation is objectively a win-win and much better than trying to copy the concept like, for example, Taiwanese CSBC shipbuilding corporation did with its recently presented combat sea drone.
Among Magura V7's strong sides, the Red Cat notes that the drone offers "enhanced range, payload capacity, and mission flexibility, making it ideal for deep-strike missions, anti-ship warfare, and coastal interdiction in contested zones." They directly say the Ukrainian unmanned boat is presented as the solution for the Indo-Pacific theater of operations.
On May 14, 2025, in Kyiv, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, @ChiefDI_Ukraine, and his team of specialists, publicly unveiled a new generation of strike naval drones — Magura. https://t.co/BMGAbSR4ic pic.twitter.com/K0Xift5Zlk — Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (@DI_Ukraine) May 15, 2025
For the American manufacturer, it's an evolution from an airborne systems provider into the multidomain territory. Among previous achievements is the victory of its Black Widow drone over the offer from Skydio in a 2024 tender for the supply of quadcopters to the U.S. Army and a contract for Edge 130 aircraft UAV for the National Guard and other law enforcement agencies.
On the other hand, the creators of Magura from Ukraine are still unknown. At international exhibitions, the Magura V5 is demonstrated by the state arms export agency SpetsTechnoExport (STE). In the recent press tour organized by the Defense Intelligence, the drones had UForce inscribed on their hulls.
Read more: The Missile Used By Ukrainian Magura Drone For Historic Su-30 Downing Was the AIM-9 Sidewinder
