Ukrainian Mi-8 shoots down Russian Shahed-136

The Ukrainian military shot down a Russian Shahed-136 attack drone from an Mi-8 helicopter of the army aviation.

The video was posted on social media on December 7, 2024.

To destroy the UAV, two helicopters were used, which followed the target until it went outside the population center, after which they shot it down with onboard weapons.

Judging by the video, one of the helicopters was equipped with an optoelectronic station and carried out detection, tracking and objective control of the damage, as well as guided the second helicopter to the target.

The second helicopter, a Mi-8 of the army aviation, hit the target with its onboard weapon, which led to the UAV’s crash and subsequent detonation in a deserted area.

The detonation of the downed UAV clearly demonstrates that even a downed Shahed-136 poses a significant danger. That is why it was not shot down immediately after being detected, but only after it left the settlement.

This is not the first time that helicopters have been used to counter enemy drones in the skies over Ukraine. Army aviation has been actively involved in intercepting UAVs since the summer of 2024.

This became possible because, after actively expanding the network of mobile fire groups that shot down drones with machine gun fire from the ground, the Russians also began to use higher altitudes to fly UAVs in an attempt to avoid ground fire.

This made it possible to effectively engage army aviation to intercept targets at low, but not at ultra-low, altitudes.

However, the successful use of helicopters depends on many factors, including crew training and timely detection of enemy air targets.

At the same time, intercepting targets with small arms also poses a threat to the helicopter crew.

If a bullet fails to hit the warhead of a kamikaze drone, it can detonate. As a result, it can hit the helicopter with debris if it gets too close.