Russia shoots down its own helicopter

In Russia, during a mission to combat drones, its own mobile air defense group shot down a Ka-52 "Alligator" attack helicopter, Forbes reports.

The helicopter was hunting Ukrainian drones when a ground mobile air defense group, which was engaged in the same task, opened fire on it. According to available data, this is not the first such incident, but one of the most "costly" in its consequences.

The basis of Ukrainian strikes consists of AN-196 "Luty" and Fire Point FP-1 drones – low-noise devices flying at speeds up to 120 miles per hour. As stated in the material, they avoid Russia's powerful missile defense by flying at low altitude, which at the same time makes them an easy target for other means of destruction, in particular helicopters.

That is why Russia, following Ukraine's example, has deployed mobile groups of volunteers who travel to likely drone attack points. In this case, as the source writes, the BARS (Combat Army Reserve of the Country) unit was armed with the 9K333 "Verba" MANPADS – a modern system with a triple homing head that tracks the target in ultraviolet, near and mid-infrared ranges.

The range of destruction is more than three miles, the warhead weighs about three kilograms.

According to the publication, the pay for fighters in mobile air defense groups is extremely low – about $133 per week, plus a $200 bonus for each drone shot down, although fighters often complain that bonuses are not paid to them. According to the author of the material, this is what pushes fighters to shoot without thoroughly checking the target.

Both crew members of the helicopter ejected. One of them, it is noted, died instantly due to a failure of the ejection system, while the second was evacuated alive.

It is noted that since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russian air defense has already shot down at least seven of its own helicopters, in several cases precisely while pursuing drones. At the beginning of the war, Russia had about 90 Ka-52s, but currently only about half of them remain combat-ready.