The Ukrainian military reportedly took out a Russian Mi-28 military helicopter using a cheap remote-controlled drone.
Sources from the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU told Ukrainian media Suspline and Kyiv Post that Ukrainian special forces used a remote-controlled drone with first-person view (FPV) capability to shoot down the helicopter in Kursk Oblast, Russia.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces launched a rare cross-border attack from there this week.
Russia announced that a state of emergency had been declared in Kursk following the border crossing on Tuesday. 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, 11 tanks and more than 20 armored combat vehicles were involved in the attack.
The footage released by the media showed a drone apparently flying into the propeller at the rear of the helicopter and detonating.
The Kyiv Post reported, citing Russian military bloggers, that Russia lost two helicopters in the attack, including a Ka-52 attack helicopter and a Mi-28.
According to Drone XL, the cost of basic FPV drones ranges from $500 to $1,000. A Mi-28 military helicopter is estimated to cost around $18 million, according to Defense Mirror.
This is probably not the first time that Ukraine has successfully attacked a Russian helicopter with drones.
In July, Russian military bloggers reported that Ukraine had shot down a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, using drones.
Ukraine has also reportedly recently had success using FPV drones to intercept more expensive Russian reconnaissance drones.
For the first time, the Ukrainian military is using cheap drones to monitor the battlefield and equipping them with bombs to attack Russian armored vehicles and military positions.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US think tank, said on Wednesday that if Ukraine can build on its recent successes in using the “relatively cheap and widely available” drones, the country can conserve its air defense systems.
To compensate for Russia’s enormous lead in the fight against the Russian invasion, Ukraine has improvised and introduced innovations.
Russia has also increased the number of drones it uses on the battlefield and has become increasingly adept at using electronic warfare against Ukraine. However, Ukraine is believed to have the edge in terms of technological innovation, Atlantic Council analysts said in January.
“The Russian and Ukrainian armed forces are engaged in a technological race in attack and defense. And Ukraine’s ability to bring technological innovations to market on a large scale before they are adopted by Russia is critical to the country’s ability to offset Russia’s current material advantage,” the ISW said on Wednesday.
