Russian Su-35 fighter jet shoots down Mi-8 helicopter near Voronezh in friendly fire: mistaken for Ukrainian drone
A Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down on October 1 by a Russian Su-35 fighter jet, which mistook it for a Ukrainian drone.
Censor.NET reports this, citing Russian media.
What is known?
On October 1, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet hit the helicopter while repelling a large-scale drone attack. The fighter jet’s crew mistakenly identified the Mi-8 helicopter as an enemy drone and opened fire on it.
The helicopter crashed in the Anninsky district of Voronezh region, approximately 80 km from Voronezh. The pilot, navigator, and door gunner were killed.
The Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber did not explicitly identify the cause of the incident but wrote that it was "classic."
Another Russian Telegram channel writes that the Mi-8 was on a takeoff pad and began taking off after a UAV threat was announced, after which it came under fire from the Su-35.
On September 29, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that a military aircraft had crashed in Russia’s Amur region. It claimed that the crash occurred during a training flight. The aircraft was not carrying ammunition.
Units of the 549th Army Aviation Regiment (military unit 12628), which operates Mi-8 helicopters, are stationed around Voronezh and at nearby airfields.
The Russian Aerospace Forces’ 15th Army Aviation Brigade, as well as aviation detachments of the Russian National Guard and the FSB Border Service based at Baltimor airfield, also regularly conduct army aviation operations in the region. They operate Mi-8AMT and Mi-8MTV-1 transport and patrol variants, Militarnyi writes.
Background
- This is not the first loss of a Russian Mi-8 while repelling a Ukrainian drone attack. On the night of March 4, a Russian military helicopter crashed in the hamlet of Dudki in Rostov region, approximately 2.5 km from Millerovo military airfield.
