TechUkrainian drone's historic takedown of Russian helicopter

Ukrainian drone's historic takedown of Russian helicopter

Near Cape Tarkhankut, off the coast of Crimea, a Ukrainian Magura V5 maritime drone shot down a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. This is likely the first such instance in history. Moreover, the Ukrainians also hit a second Russian helicopter, but the damaged aircraft managed to return to base.

View of the Russian helicopter before it was shot down.
View of the Russian helicopter before it was shot down.
Images source: © belsat
Łukasz Michalik

The Ukrainian intelligence reports on the remarkable operation using Magura V5 maritime drones. The machines, measuring 5.5 metres long and weighing about 1,000 kilograms, with approximately 200 kilograms allocated to the warhead, were sent to the Crimea region, where the Russians detected them.

The Russians dispatched two Mi-8 helicopters, among other things, to destroy the intruders. However, the Ukrainians were prepared for such developments—some drones were equipped with R-73 air-to-air missiles.

Drone shoots down helicopter

When the helicopters approached the Ukrainian drones, the drones opened fire. The recording shows that one of the helicopters is hit and falls after deploying thermal traps. According to the Ukrainians, the second helicopter was also hit, but the crew managed to return it to the base.

The brief Ukrainian communication lacks details on how the aerial weapon was integrated with the maritime drones. The Magura V5 units are equipped with a module with cameras and night vision and can transmit up to three different video streams to the control centre.

The information about arming the drones with R-73 missiles, named SeaDragon, suggests that weapons intended for airplanes were somehow integrated with the remotely controlled, floating platforms, and its "maritime" version received its own distinctive name. The first reports on integrating this weapon with Magura drones were reported as early as May 2024 by Wirtualna Polska journalist Karolina Modzelewska.

R-73 missile

The R-73 missile is a Soviet counterpart to the American AIM-9 Sidewinder, developed in the 1970s. It is a short-range, heat-seeking missile, nearly 3 metres long and weighing slightly more than 100 kilograms.

Its range is estimated at 30 kilometres when launched from an aircraft, but it is likely significantly less when launched from sea level.

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