U.S. Army tests Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels as drone carriers

Ukraine’s Magura uncrewed surface vessels, the drone boats that have sunk Russian warships in the Black Sea, took part in a U.S. Army exercise in Michigan, where they were used as floating launch pads for aerial drones.

The boats appeared during Bayonet Quest 26, which the 7th Infantry Division, part of Multi-Domain Command-Pacific, ran across Michigan from Sept. 26 to Oct. 6, 2026. The division said soldiers used the exercise to test autonomous systems and uncrewed aircraft as it experiments with how new technology can extend sensing, reach and decision-making.

According to images and materials released by the division, the exercise included crewed-uncrewed maritime testing that paired a Mk VI patrol boat with autonomous systems, giving the U.S. Army a look at how the two could work together in complex terrain. The Magura boats, built by Ukrainian manufacturer UFORCE, carried a dedicated platform on the front of the hull from which aerial drones took off.

The 7th Infantry Division did not say how many Magura boats took part, which model was used, or what type of aerial drones they carried.

Screengrab from video posted to social media

The Michigan exercise is the second publicly known use of the Magura family by U.S. forces this year. During Balikatan 2026, the largest annual U.S.-Philippines military exercise, Magura boats destroyed a decommissioned target ship in a live-fire maritime strike off Itbayat in the Batanes islands on April 24, 2026. UFORCE confirmed on June 8 that its vessels had taken part, after The Defence Blog reported that U.S. special forces had sunk a ship with Ukrainian-designed drone boats.

Magura drone at Balikatan 2026. Photo by Godfrey Ampong

Magura boats became one of Ukraine’s best-known weapons after its military intelligence used them to strike Russian Black Sea Fleet ships near Crimea, forcing much of the fleet to move away from the peninsula. Ukraine has since developed versions armed with missiles and machine guns, and in 2025 Ukrainian military intelligence said Magura boats armed with air-to-air missiles had shot down Russian fighter jets over the Black Sea.

Using a drone boat to carry and launch aerial drones extends how far a small craft can see and strike without putting a crewed ship close to the target. Ukraine has used drone boats in a similar way to carry smaller strike drones toward Russian-held coastlines, and the U.S. Army has been looking at uncrewed boats for its units in the Pacific, where many operations would play out among islands and along coastlines.

The 7th Infantry Division, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, was reorganized under Multi-Domain Command-Pacific as part of the U.S. Army’s efforts to prepare for operations in the Indo-Pacific region.