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Ukraine Just Downed a Russian Helicopter with an FPV Drone
In a stunning battlefield first, Ukraine knocked down a 12-ton Russian helicopter with a two-pound drone.
Over the past few days, the Russian military bloggers I monitor lit up with activity.
One Russian blogger shared a picture of a burning wreck in a field on Wednesday and said the photo showed the remains of the Mi-8 helicopter.
“They are dead and wounded,” the Russian military blogger ColonelCassad wrote of the helicopter crew.
Others posted tributes to those wounded or killed in the attack, with the popular military blogger FighterBomber — known for having ties with the Russian air force — confirming that “everything” reported about the Mi-8 hit was accurate.
Some conflicting reports say the helicopter was shot down by friendly fire, from Russia’s own air defenses, but the amount of Russian military sources claiming it was a Ukrainian FPV drone is extremely compelling.
So, what happened?
Ukrainian forces deploy more than 100,000 explosive first-person-view drones a month all along the 700-mile front line.
These pesky little buggers have been a persistent threat to Russian infantry and armored vehicles, with countless videos on Telegram and X showing Ukrainian drone operators striking various Russian forces.
Now, a Ukrainian FPV drone operator, wearing a virtual reality headset, “shot down” a Russian Mi-8 helicopter.
The Mi-8 (NATO reporting name “Hip”) is a massive, twin-turbine, Soviet-designed helicopter mostly used for transport, but can also be used as an airborne command post, and occasionally as a gunship.
In the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s, there was air-to-air combat between Iraqi and Iranian Army Aviation helicopters, including between Iranian Bell AH-1J Cobras and Iraqi Mi-8s.
The Mi-8 is the world’s most-produced helicopter, with over 17,000 units used by over 50 countries. The Ukrainians have dozens and even the US CIA has used Mi-8s to assist the Northern Alliance in their fight against the Taliban in early 2002.
This act begs the question: How does one destroy a helicopter with a relatively small amount…
