Downing of Russian Mi-8 by Predators of the Heights: Details from the Unit and the Pilot

Today, on September 29, 2025, for the second time in history, Ukrainian FPV drone pilots managed to shoot down a Russian helicopter, this time a multi-purpose Mi-8.

This was done by a Baltic Group team from the 1st Battalion of Unmanned Systems of the 59th Separate Assault Brigade of the USF of Ukraine.

In a conversation with Militarnyi, the unit in which the soldiers serve told us that one of the most experienced pilots of the brigade, called Baltika, destroyed the enemy helicopter.

He was mobilized to the 59th Brigade in the summer of 2023 and immediately assigned to the 1st Battalion of Unmanned Systems as soon as it was formed.

“After the start of the full-scale invasion, like most, I went to the military enlistment office, as I was not in the military service and was younger than the mobilization age (27 at the time), they just took my number and said they would call me back. My friend and I tried to get into the TDF, but it turned out to be the DFTG, where they were engaged in military exercises, training grounds, object protection, trips with mobile fire groups, etc. until it was disbanded. After that, I improved my physical training (I was thinking of joining the 3rd Brigade). In the summer 2023, I went to the military enlistment office and was given a choice of the Airborne Assault Forces or the newly created Strike Unmanned Aircraft Systems Battalion, and chose the latter,” said the pilot with the call sign Baltika.

Now it is possible to join this unit not only through mobilization, but also through recruitment. For example, the LobbyX offers a list of positions in the 59th separate assault brigade, and by filling out the form you can get directly to the 1st Battalion of Unmanned Systems.

Current servicemen can also join by transfer (with the consent of the commander), as well as those returning from being AWOL.

The battalion is constantly working to improve the skills of its personnel, and Baltika also trained here:

“At the permanent position, thanks to the company commander at the time, Deputat, we started flying FPV simulators, and upon arrival in the Donetsk region, we immediately started practical training. A few trips to the training ground and I started flying with two other crews, “Eyes of Vengeance” and Key Group, and I am especially grateful to the former, because my first flight was with him (it was like a 72nd in Vodyane that took off its shoes and needed to be finished), and it was a successful flight, by the way.”

Answering the question that the battlefield is constantly changing and the tasks of drone operators are also changing, he said about his experience as follows:

“I think that the experience of a pilot is gained during the year, and there is nothing new to learn, except to control emotions, to perform tasks with a cool head, which we have acquired as a crew, the tasks are as diverse as at the beginning, from deliveries to our positions to, as it turned out, damage or shooting down helicopters.”

The Baltic Group’s work included a hit in January 2024, when the logistics of the route from Donetsk to Pervomaiske and further to Karlivka were temporarily disrupted.

It was a hit on a truck with ammunition under the bridge between Pervomaiske and Pisky in the Avdiivka sector.

It is near the “Republic Bridge”, known to many for the fighting in 2014-2015:

Another well-known example of Baltika’s professionalism in drone control is an FPV flip with the subsequent destruction of an enemy infantry fighting vehicle:

The crew has already done a lot of similar work, and shooting down a helicopter is a logical continuation of it. Baltik described the interception in more detail:

“We noticed that there is a certain pattern in the way enemy aircraft operate. For some time, we conducted surveillance, analyzed and roughly determined the point from which the aircraft operated and the approximate time. Then, at the time when enemy aircraft usually operated, I would fly out on patrol and wait for the aircraft. When there were no helicopters, I simply flew further along the logistics routes in search of enemy vehicles. And today I was lucky.”

The entire unit was involved in the destruction of the helicopter and those on board. A 10-inch Shrike 10 FPV drone with a PG-7M warhead was used as a weapon.

“The entire crew was involved, as all the hits are the work of the crew. The reconnaissance team did an excellent job, noticing and notifying the command in advance, which gave the order to fly to intercept,” Baltika notes.

The recruitment form for the unit contains various vacancies, which, in addition to UAV operators, also require UAV repairmen, clerks, drivers, and medical personnel. More information about the division is available on the division’s website.