Ukrainian helicopters become the 'nemesis' of Russian suicide UAVs
In the fight against suicide drone attacks from Russia, Ukraine has found a "secret weapon": helicopters.
Not only providing logistical support or performing special missions as before, helicopters are now becoming an important force in Kiev's air defense network.
Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said helicopters have proven so effective that they can shoot down up to 40 percent of UAVs in an area, depending on weather conditions. In the past year alone, Ukraine claims to have used helicopters to take down more than 3,200 Shahed UAVs that Russia has deployed in its skies.
From Mi-24s to 'innovative tactics'
Videos released by Ukraine show dramatic scenes: Mi-24 attack helicopters spraying machine gun rounds that tear apart Shaheds, or a gunner in the cockpit firing from a door-mounted gun to take down an incoming UAV.
To improve their effectiveness, Kiev plans to equip helicopters with infrared sensors and thermal imaging systems, which will help detect UAVs better in the dark or in bad weather.
While useful, helicopters remain vulnerable assets. Flying close to the front line, they are always at risk of being shot down by shoulder-fired missiles or air defense systems. In fact, both sides have lost many helicopters in the war, although the exact number has not been announced.
Ukraine is in a difficult situation, having to deal with cheap Shahed UAVs while not being able to continuously use multi-million dollar interceptor missiles like Patriot. A Patriot can cost up to 4 million USD, while a UAV is only a few tens of thousands of USD.
Therefore, in addition to helicopters, Kiev is testing many other solutions, from machine guns mounted on pickup trucks, interceptor UAVs to AI-integrated automatic turrets. Notably, Ukraine has established a UAV air defense force, specializing in using UAVs to hunt Russian UAVs.
In addition, the Ukrainian army is also considering buying light propeller aircraft with machine guns - much cheaper than combat helicopters, to serve as specialized "UAV hunters".