File image.
Ukraine lost a Mi-24 attack helicopter on February 9, and available information indicates that it was shot down by a Russian Geran drone.
The 11th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Kherson” of the Ukrainian Ground Forces was the first to report the aerial loss. The brigade said in a statement that the helicopter’s crew was killed while carrying out a combat mission, without providing any further details.
Later, Ukrainian media reported that the helicopter collided with a Russian Geran drone. However, Sergey Lebedev, coordinator of the Mykolaiv pro-Russian underground, said in a post to Telegram that the helicopter was in fact shot down by an anti-aircraft missile launched from a Geran.
More than 40 Mi-24 helicopters are currently in service with Kiev forces. Many of these helicopters were delivered to Ukraine after the start of the Russian special military operation some two years ago, by the Czech Republic, Poland and North Macedonia.
Wikipedia’s list of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the conflict says that Ukraine had lost at least 21 of these helicopters. The real losses are likely even higher.
The existence of interceptor versions of the Geran, typically used in one-way attacks, first became known in December, when the wreckage of a Geran-2 armed with a Soviet-era R-60M short-range air-to-air missile was found in Ukraine.
The propeller-driven Geran-2, said to be a copy of Iran’s Shahed-136, has a range of around 2,500 kilometers with a cruise speed of 180 kilometers per hour.
Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)
In January, another interceptor version of the Geran-2 armed with a modified man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) appeared.
Click to see full-size image. (X)
Later in the same month, Kiev forces found the wreckage of a Geran-4 jet-powered drone armed with an R-60M short-range air-to-air missile.
The Geran-4 is a deeply upgraded version of the Geran-3, which is alleged to be a copy of the Iranian Shahed-238 jet-powered drone. The drone could reportedly reach speeds between 350 and 500 kilometers per hour, and has an effective range of 850 kilometers.
Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)
On the Geran-2, the R-60M and the MANPADs on top of the drone. In some cases, facing backward. Meanwhile, on the Geran-4, the missile was attached to the belly of the drone, most likely not to block the intake of the jet engine, which is located on top.
The R-60M is equipped with an infrared seeker with an improved sensitivity and resistance to countermeasures like flares compared to earlier models. It has an engagement range of eight kilometers.
It is still unclear which MANPADs were installed on the Geran-2 interceptor, but the most likely option is the Igla-V, an air-launcher version of the Igla MANPADs. The missiles used by the system are guided via infrared homing. The maximum range of the system is reported to be five kilometers.
The interceptor versions of the Geran-2 and the Geran-4 are reported to be equipped with a GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system, along with some sort of a thermal imaging search and tracking system and a two-way data link.
These interceptors were not designed to intercept other drones, but rather to take down slower Ukrainian aircraft used as drone hunters, like helicopters and modified architectural fixed-wing planes.
The downing of the Mi-24 shows that the concept is practical. After this success, Russia will likely work on refining the Geran interceptors and employ them on a wider scale.
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wow the ruskies shot down a 56 year old helicopter. bravo. russia has been dragging its feet in ukraine for far too long, now they will begin to regret it. nice guys finish last.
not true. it was a drone. however, the inginuity was russian. the only feet dragging in ukraine belong to the poor ukrainian soldeirs being taken to medical.
according to you tube sources as reported in the comments section yesterday in fact more ukraines mow are being killed for refusing conscription than on the battlefield. and of course its russians all around being killed genetically as the elite know . intentions are everything in the law . naturally western msm all with ukraine won’t report anything detrimental to the image of ukraine the underdog . imo.
cope harder. 🤣
the kiev junta lost a helicopter in the same manner very recently. that aircraft was said to be piloted by a very experienced pilot. i guess once fired at close range hitting the target is a given.
unbelievable ramses . piss weak gap filler and the fudged icing on your little slice of pork pie 🥧.
ukraine can not replace much, including pilots.
are you some sort of illiterate ? 🤔 didn’t you just read the story about the eu loaning 90 billion to support ukraine havent you read the fact oi the west’s total financial support ????don’t you know ukraines being funded for 100 years by england ???? don’t you read the news ???? did you forget the eu s said they will finance ukraine for as long as it takes to crush russia ? or are you playing dumb to depict ukraine as the helpless under dog with intentions !