Nikita Shenderovsky13:51, 20.03.26
The successful operation was carried out by the 59th Special Operations Brigade.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down a Russian Ka-52 helicopter using an FPV drone. The National Information Portal “Tysk” reports this , adding a photo of the successful defeat.
“Pokrovsky direction a few minutes ago. Enemy Ka-52 burns out on the ground after a forced landing caused by a hit by an FPV drone of the 59th OSH Brigade,” the NIP reported.
A video is also being published online showing a downed Ka-52 burning.
Defense Express experts indicate that this is the first known case of an attack helicopter being shot down by an FPV drone in general and the second known case of helicopters being shot down by a drone in mid-air during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
What about the Ka-52 crew?
The fate of the two-man crew is currently unknown, but experts say they most likely did not survive. The fact is that although technically this helicopter has catapults that should ensure the rescue of the crew, the FPV drone footage shows the Ka-52 at a low altitude.
“For the catapult to operate, the crew must first activate it independently, which takes some time to understand the situation and react, and after its activation, the blades must first fire, and only then the catapult must operate. That is, the Russians might not have enough altitude and time. And some evidence of this may be the absence of parachute domes at the site of the Ka-52 crash,” Defense Express explains.
(C)UNIAN 2026
Cool. An $15 million shot down by a cheap drone. That’s more cost effective than shooting down a cheap drone with an expensive missile.