This photo also explains why counting Russian losses after strikes on air bases in Luhansk and Berdiansk by satellite images is actually a futile thing to do
Fuselage of a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter on full display in a photo published on social media after a missile strike inflicted by Ukrainian forces on Russian airfields on October 17th.
The authors claim the following picture was taken at the military airfield near the occupied city of Luhansk. Earlier, satellite imagery indicated at least five helicopters were affected by the Ukrainian attack. However, the up-close photo below shows why a look from space does not always show the real matter of things.
At first glance, just a few holes: one in the cockpit and another one a little behind. Though a careful examination shows the following picture:
This helicopter was not on fire, did not fall apart into pieces, so the damage cannot be seen from a satellite. Even though a few dozen fragments of the M74 submunition hit a relatively small area of the cockpit approximately 5×5 feet.
Moreover, when assessing the damage, the cockpit is not the most important part to look at contrary to the engine compartment or fuel tanks, for example. In fact, although the Russians call their Ka-52 an “armored” helicopter, it can be pierced by small arms, such as rifles – it was testified by the helicopters’ pilots themselves in a video report published in spring 2022.
This much damage is enough to put a Ka-52 out of order and make it retreat for repairs back at the home factory, until the pierced parts are patched up and any damaged subsystems replaced. It takes time and, on top of that, components which means no guarantee a helicopter damaged by ATACMS would be able to get back to service in general, or at least despite the risk to fail mid-flight due to a hole in the engine.
There is a lot of evidence that the final number of damaged/destroyed choppers could be above 20. Satellite images taken after the attack shows the obviously destroyed choppers, but also choppers remaining in the same place as before the attack. Any choppers not damaged would have been removed to another location immediately.
No aircraft can be fully armored. They would never get off the ground or the payload would be ridiculously small. Usually, only certain critical parts are armored, but still not enough to reliably stop powerful small arms, especially with armor-piercing ammo.