Uncrewed MV7 Magura-type surface vessels produced by the Ukrainian company UFORCE were used in the US Army’s Bayonet Quest 26 exercises in Michigan. There, they were employed as launch platforms for aerial drones. This was reported by Defence Blog, citing the US Army’s 7th Infantry Division.
According to images and materials released by the division, the exercise included testing interoperability between crewed and uncrewed maritime platforms. In particular, an Mk VI patrol boat operated alongside autonomous systems, allowing the US Army to assess how they could work together in complex terrain. The MV7 vessels were fitted with a special platform at the bow of the hull from which aerial drones were launched.
It is currently unknown how many MV7 drones were used in the exercise, which specific variant was employed, or what types of aerial drones they carried.
Bayonet Quest 26, run by the US Army’s 7th Infantry Division, which is part of Multi-Domain Command-Pacific, took place in various areas of Michigan from 26 September to 6 October 2026. The division said that, as part of the exercise, troops tested autonomous systems and unmanned aerial vehicles and examined how new technologies could expand surveillance capabilities, increase operational range, and improve decision-making.
The US Army is also exploring the potential use of uncrewed boats in its units in the Pacific region, where many operations may take place between islands and along coastlines.
The Michigan drills marked the second publicly known instance this year of US forces using Magura-family maritime drones. During Balikatan 2026 — the largest annual US-Philippines military exercise — on 24 April 2026, Magura drones destroyed a decommissioned target vessel during live-fire naval drills off Itbayat Island in the Batanes archipelago.
Read alsoThe Evolution of Maritime Drones
By way of reminder, UFORCE showcased the MV7 maritime drone during the international REPMUS 26 exercises held in Portugal from 31 August to 25 September. The company demonstrated the vessel in all the configurations it uses: with interception modules, FPV, kinetic strike, and electronic warfare.
MAGURA is an acronym for Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus. It is a Ukraine-developed family of next-generation multi-purpose uncrewed surface vessels.
They can carry out a range of operations, including surveillance, reconnaissance, patrolling, search and rescue, mine countermeasures, protection of naval assets, and combat missions.
According to Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR), as of May 2025 MAGURA maritime drones had destroyed 21 enemy targets:
- 16 of them — Black Sea Fleet ships (including the missile boat "Ivanovets", the patrol ship "Sergey Kotov", the large landing ship "Tsezar Kunikov", and the frigate "Admiral Makarov"),
- three — helicopters;
- two — fighter jets.
In December 2024, near occupied Crimea, V5-model drones armed with R-73 missiles engaged enemy Mi-8 helicopters.
And on 2 May 2025, 50 km off the coast of Novorossiysk, two enemy Su-30s were shot down by V7 drones armed with US-made AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.