How Ukrainian Drones Are Now Downing Russian Helicopters

After Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian attack helicopter, questions were raised about how it was done. The answer is that the latest Ukrainian drones are equipped with software that takes data from air defense radars which can then help plot a targeting course for the drone. 

This is not a random lucky shot, but the latest battlefield innovation from Ukraine. JL

The Economist reports:

A drone hit a Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter, forcing it to make an emergency landing. Was this a breakthrough in aerial warfare? Intelligence about Russian helicopters’ movements is vitally important in a drone attack. That is newly possible: since July Ukraine has been using drones with software that can take data from air-defence radar and other sensors and calculate an intercept course for a target. The operator follows this course until the drone gets into visual range. Videos show Ukrainian drones intercepting Russian reconnaissance drones. The recent attacks on helicopters probably use the same methods.

ON JULY 31ST pictures of a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter, crashed and burning, began circulating on social media. That in itself was not unusual: Ukrainian forces have shot down scores of helicopters since the Russian invasion began. Much more surprising was the claim in the Ukrainian press that this helicopter had been downed by a small drone. A video released by the country’s armed forces a few days later seemed to lend credence to that claim: the footage (see below) shows a drone hitting another Russian aircraft, this time an Mi-28 attack helicopter, reportedly forcing it to make an emergency landing. Were these lucky hits—or signs of a breakthrough in aerial warfare?

Russian attack helicopters have played a relatively small role in this conflict. Shoulder-launched heat-seeking missiles, the main weapon used against them, have forced them well back from the front lines. Craft are forced to stay out of sight, firing volleys of unguided rockets or guided missiles from long range. But those attacks can still prove deadly.

 

Drones have destroyed helicopters before, though rarely. In May 2022 a Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2 drone fired a missile to destroy a Russian transport helicopter on Snake Island, in the Black Sea. But the first-person-view (FPV) drones used in recent attacks are different. The TB2 is a large craft, resembling a small plane; FPV drones are adapted from commercial racing drones, and look much like those hobbyists use. Most weigh less than 1kg. They are loaded with explosives and carry out kamikaze attacks. They have already proved to be extremely effective against ground vehicles and infantry—but before July none had ever hit a helicopter.

 

This was not for want of trying. There have been close encounters, in which Ukrainian FPVs chased Russian helicopters but failed to catch them. A drone of this type loaded with explosives has a maximum speed of around 150kph; an Mi-8 helicopter can exceed 240kph. Drones can only hit them if the two are flying towards each other, or if the helicopter is circling or hovering.

That means intelligence about Russian helicopters’ movements is vitally important in a drone attack. That is newly possible: since July Ukraine has been using drones with software that can take data from air-defence radar and other sensors and calculate an intercept course for a target. The operator follows this course until the drone gets into visual range. Videos on social media show Ukrainian drones intercepting Russian reconnaissance drones. The recent attacks on helicopters probably use the same methods.

Of course, helicopter pilots have ways to protect themselves. Although the flares they use to distract heat-seeking missiles are useless against drones, attack craft can use their automatic cannon against them. If that fails the pilot can use evasive manoeuvres or a burst of speed to get away, although that might mean abandoning their mission.

Drones do have one big advantage—they are incredibly cheap to make. FPVs cost around $500 to produce; volunteers make them at their kitchen tables with soldering irons. Ukraine says it wants to produce 1m this year, and import 1m more. Sending scores of drones against a single target is far cheaper than firing a shoulder-launched heat-seeking missile. The Stinger, an American model, costs $500,000 per use. It has a maximum range of about 8km and needs to be fired within sight of a target. FPV drones have a range of 20km and can be launched from well out of sight.

If FPVs can be successfully used in combination with these missiles, they could leave helicopters with nowhere to hide, limiting their use still further. Ukrainians enjoyed seeing the burning wreckage of an $18m Russian copter. They hope for more. ■