AFU shot down Mi-8 for first time with help of drone - Forbes
On July 31, on the eastern edge of the Donetsk region, which is 16 kilometers from the front line, the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot down a Russian plane for the first time with the help of a two-kilogram drone.
As Censor.NET informs, Forbes writes about it.
The publication notes that this was preceded by ten months of unsuccessful attempts. The fact of the range indicates how difficult the operation was.
The weight of the downed plane was 12 tons, three crew members were on board. The Mi-8 performed strike, transport, and medical evacuation missions.
Russian military bloggers assume that the defenders "caught" the board on approach. Meanwhile, the media emphasizes that the operation at this distance is very difficult, so it is possible that the drone that attacked the plane was accompanied by another UAV that was supposed to capture and relay a short-range command signal.
Forbes notes that given the number of FPV drones used by the Armed Forces every day, the threat to Russian helicopters may increase.
"It probably took at least 10 months of trying before the operator of the Ukrainian drone finally hit the Russian helicopter. The months of misses are understandable. The helicopter can fly at a speed of more than 240 km per hour at altitudes exceeding thousands of meters - it is too fast and too high for a two-kilogram the drone could make a clean shot without great skill or luck on the part of the operator, Forbes journalists emphasize.
The media explains that the speed of the helicopter can reach 240 km/h at altitudes exceeding thousands of meters. It is too high and too fast for small Ukrainian UAVs. So the success of this operation can be explained either by the professionalism of the Ukrainian drone operator, or by luck, or by both of these factors at the same time.
