FPV drone hit a Russian Mi-8

A Ukrainian FPV drone hit a Russian Mi-8 multipurpose helicopter in the Kursk region.

Volunteer and blogger Serhii Sternenko released a video of the combat work.

The operators of the M2 unit of the Security Service of Ukraine reported that the Russian helicopter had been hit in the tail beam by an attack drone with a fragmentation warhead.

“The further fate of Mi-8 is unknown, but it has stopped working in the area,” they said.

The video shows that the signal from the drone is cut off during the flight near the tail rotor. This may indicate a hit to the tail or a controlled detonation near it with subsequent damage by debris.

A close explosion could have damaged the tail rotor and caused other collateral damage, with an emergency landing. In the worst case scenario, this could have resulted in the destruction of the helicopter’s tail beam and subsequent crash.

The video shows that the Russian Mi-8 is armed with two pods of B-8V20A 80mm rockets, which may indicate that it was performing strike missions in the combat zone.

Two days earlier, a Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter was damaged by a kamikaze FPV drone in the Kursk region.

The drone hit the tail beam of the helicopter, but the crew managed to divert and land the damaged helicopter. Both pilots survived.

On August 6, the Ukrainian military also destroyed a Ka-52 helicopter of the Russian army. As a result of the hard landing, the helicopter started to burn, making it impossible to repair and return to service.

It is not known what hit the Russian helicopter, but the photo released shows damage and fire in the engine compartment.

According to the Russian military and propagandists, it is known that the helicopter’s commander (whose crew consisted of two pilots) didn’t survive. The navigator was severely injured as a result of a hard landing and was hospitalized.