Red Cat Plans to Start Marketing Ukraine's Drone Boats to the U.S. Navy
An American military drone developer has set up a new division to sell Ukrainian-tested drone boat technology to the U.S. Navy, closing the loop on the cycle of innovation that has defined the Black Sea theater of the conflict.
As soon as the Russian full-scale invasion began in 2022, the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet imposed a naval blockade on Ukraine's seaports, repeatedly striking foreign-flag merchant ships off the coast. With American and European assistance, Ukraine countered with strikes of its own. Its forces sank the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva with antiship missiles, and followed up with strikes on Russian warships in Crimea using British/French Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
But Ukraine's real innovation was an exploding one-way drone boat, remotely controlled and cheap enough to be expendable. It was based on an American prototype that had been designed to counter a Chinese invasion fleet in the Taiwan Strait, according to the New York Times. Using this American-origin design, American Starlink connectivity, and American targeting support, Ukraine's defense intelligence agency (GUR) began regularly damaging or destroying Russian vessels in and around Crimea using swarm tactics.
After several design iterations, Ukraine's drone boats have also been up-gunned to carry strike UAVs and anti-aircraft missiles to counter Russian air patrols. Using a mix of short range missiles, these drone boats have become the first unmanned vessels in history to shoot down helicopters and fighter aircraft.
Using drones alone, the GUR's Group 13 helped Ukraine attain sea control of the western Black Sea, driving the Black Sea Fleet into the relative safety of the Novorossiysk area - without the benefit of a conventional navy. Its success made the Magura design instantly recognizable in defense circles.
The U.S. Navy has been investing in its own drone prototypes, reportedly with mixed results - but to date it has not publicly included the Magura series in its test and evaluation program. The defense robotics company Red Cat, a supplier of drones to Ukraine and to the U.S. Army, has offered a way to change that. It announced in May that it would begin marketing proven drone boats with "10,000+ hours of operating time in live combat missions" and "dozens of successful kinetic engagements against enemy assets," a description that only matches Ukraine's Magura series. Red Cat has now announced a new division to carry this product line forward in the U.S. market.
The new division - Blue Ops - will offer a seven-meter "Expeditionary Multi-Role Craft" matching the appearance and dimensions of the Magura V7, but built in the United States. It is intended for deep strike, interdiction and anti-ship warfare - like the V7 - and has autonomous capability, increased range and payload capacity. A spokesman confirmed that it is "based on technology already being built in various European countries and is being used in the Ukraine war." Red Cat plans to start production in the third quarter of 2025, in partnership with an existing manufacturer of USVs.
To head up the Blue Ops team, Red Cat has hired Barry Hinckley, a member of the Hinckley boatbuilding family, former tech executive, and former candidate for U.S. Senate. Hinckley has experience as a yacht broker, a startup founder and an offshore racing yachtsman. The division's co-leader will be Alexander "Sandy" Spaulding, the former president of Hinckley Yachts.
"The future of maritime defense depends on a fast, modular weapons system built in the U.S. That’s exactly what we’re delivering," said Barry Hinckley in a statement. "We’re not replacing large naval vessels—we’re building smaller, smarter, uncrewed platforms that extend their reach, provide forward protection, and can operate in places traditional ships can’t."