In this publication, we want to revisit a detail mentioned in the official report from the Air Force about repelling the massive attack of russian Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones on the night of July 31, 2024, specifically regarding the involvement of Army aviation for combat operations against enemy UAVs.
This was the first official statement during the entire full-scale invasion regarding the involvement of Army aviation specifically to repel an attack by russian UAVs. The logic here suggests that it refers to the use of helicopters as "airborne hunters" targeting Shaheds.
Read more: Record Interception and New Measure: Ukraine’s Air Defense Downs 89 Kamikaze Drones
At the moment, there is no understanding of how many helicopters and what types might have been used to repel the massive russian drone attack on the night of July 31, 2024, or what weapons they used.
However, we can emphasize the following points: At first glance, the question of using helicopters to hunt russian drones might seem entirely unusual.
But first, we can recall an episode from October 2018 during the Joint Forces Operation, when a Mi-24 of the Ukrainian Army Aviation was involved in shooting down a russian Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone flying between Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region. A machine gun in the nose section of the helicopter was used for the engagement.
We can also recall the autumn 2017 report about a photo showing an "upgrade" of the Mi-8 for the potential use of R-73 air-to-air missiles. A pylon from an early MiG-29 series was installed on the helicopter for this purpose. The development of this project remains unknown, but it is important to mention that such work occurred.
Considering that russian forces are attempting to use Mi-28 strike helicopters to intercept long-range kamikaze drones of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the idea of deploying Ukrainian helicopters as "airborne hunters" for Shaheds seems quite logical.
Read more: Massive 90-Drone Attack on Ukraine Included New Gerbera Drones For Distraction
