A Russian Mi-8 military transport helicopter was shot down on October 1 by its own Su-35 fighter jet, which mistook it for a Ukrainian drone.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Russian media.

What is known?

On October 1, while repelling a massive drone attack, the helicopter was hit by a Russian Su-35 fighter jet. The fighter crew mistakenly identified the Mi-8 helicopter as an enemy drone and opened fire to destroy it.

The helicopter crashed in the Anninsky district of the Voronezh region, approximately 80 km from Voronezh. The pilot, navigator and gunner died.

The Russian Telegram channel Fighterbomber did not directly name the cause of the incident, but wrote that it was “classic.”

Another Russian Telegram channel writes that the Mi-8 was on the takeoff site, and after the UAV threat was announced, it began to take off, after which it came under fire from the Su-35.

On September 29, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that a military plane had crashed in the Amur Oblast of the Russian Federation. It noted that the accident allegedly occurred during a training flight. The plane was not equipped with ammunition.

Units of the 549th Army Aviation Regiment (military unit 12628), which is armed with Mi-8 helicopters, are deployed in the vicinity of Voronezh and at nearby airfields.

Also, military aviation in the region is regularly deployed by the 15th Army Aviation Brigade of the Russian Aerospace Forces, as well as aviation units of the Russian Guard and the FSB Border Guard Service, which are based at the Baltimore airfield. They operate transport and patrol versions of the Mi-8AMT and Mi-8MTV-1, writes “Military”. Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n4026414

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