​Defense Express' Weekly Review: FPVs vs. Helicopters, Submarines Beyond Salvation

Anti-Aircraft FPV Drones Down Two russian Helicopters

The first visually confirmed instance of an FPV drone landing a hit on a helicopter has been published, soon followed by the second time. The use of small, cheap, and mass-produced FPV drones introduces a new threat to russian military rotorcraft which is quickly scaling and becoming a menace. First a Mi-28, then a Mi-8 got damaged to the tail. While the former was only damaged and sent to repairs, the second one was likely taken down.

Despite the capability of these drones to inflict lethal damage is uncertain, they force russian aviation to give up on continuing activities in these areas and show the potential of this new weapon which Defense Express broke down in our latest article.

Remarkably, Ukraine was not the first to try and implement the concept of cost-efficient drones as air defense weapons, one example is Raytheon's Coyote which grew increasingly expensive in the process of development, deviating from the original idea toward a quasi-missile. Yet Ukraine managed to create a working propeller-driven anti-aircraft weapon out of simplistic and mass-produced camera drones and even use it in combat setting a precedent in military history.

Six Months Ago, russia Captured a Magura V5 Drone But This Fact Only Highlights Their Missteps

Half a year ago, russian forces managed to capture one of the Magura sea drones used by Ukrainian intelligence to target the russian Black Sea Fleet, despite the drones being equipped with self-destruct mechanisms, a Defense Intelligence of Ukraine representative disclosed.

"They conducted a detailed inspection, disassembled it down to the last screw, and claimed that it was poorly made. However, this supposedly poorly made device was still capable of significantly crippling their powerful and perfect Black Sea Fleet," the speaker said.

Ukrainian Drones Decimate Ammunition Storage at Lipetsk Air Base Where Su-57 Were Seen Recently

On the night of August 9th, Ukrainian Liutyi long-range attack drones struck a russian Aerospace Forces air base near Lipetsk. This air base is known as the permanent deployment of russia's most advanced operating fighter aircraft, the Su-57. This is where one of russia’s largest training centers, the 4th State Center for Aircrew Training and Field Tests is located and where russian pilots learn the ropes and complexities of operating the Su-57 multirole fighter.

Official reports from the Ukrainian side claim destruction of a warehouse with air-launched ammunition, various evidence supporting the claim, including fresh satellite imagery. As for the Su-57s, there is no information. However, satellite photos from April 2023 show many of those fighters were present there, unlikely to have been relocated since then.

Irreversible Fate: russia Cannot Repair Its Submarines in the Black Sea — Loss Is Just a Matter of Time

In this article, we explain why the sinking of the Rostov-on-Don means an automatic and irreversible disabling of four more russian submarines. The main reason being the fact russia has no capability to repair its submarines in the Black Sea. One was sunk the other day and is beyond repair. Three others are locked in the Black Sea by Turkiye, not allowing any military vessels in or out as per agreements.

The only shipyard capable of working with submarines is the Sevastopol Shipyard in Crimea but it's been repeatedly and quite successfully targeted by Ukrainian missiles and drones. Bringing submarines there is even riskier than letting them slowly decay over time.

Ukraine is Developing a MiG-29 Upgrade to Make it "Surpass the F-16"

Hennadiy Khazan, President of the Ukrainian Aviation Association of Pilots and Aircraft Owners said relying solely on fighter aircraft supplied by Western partners cannot fully cover Ukraine's needs on the battlefield. Therefore, there is a project on modernizing Ukraine's MiG-29 inherited from USSR to match modern-day capabilities and needs.

"The president has given instructions to upgrade the MiG-29s to a significantly advanced Block 70/72 level, which would surpass the F-16s we've received. However, the Ministry of Defense is stalling the process, even though we are already in the final stages," the speaker said in an interview to Espreso TV and outlined the obstacles in the way of implementing the program.

Much Needed RAAM Systems in the New U.S. Aid Package for Ukraine

The United States has announced a new military $125 million security assistance package allocated to Ukraine under the PDA program. Among the Stinger air defense missiles and Javelin ATGMs, an interesting item is hiding. Pentagon's documents indicate the presence of 10,000 Remote Anti-Armor Mine artillery munitions in this provision.

These 155mm shells contain nine scatterable mines each which can be delivered to a target area within a 17.6 km range. Coincidentally or intentionally, this is exactly the type of weapon Ukraine needs right now considering the new format of military operations adopted by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Brief updates:

• Moscow suddenly changes the rules of the Armiya forum making it a closed event for business reps this year
• Among the F-16s donated to Ukraine are special decoys from the U.S. that will help Ukrainians hide the fighters from russian attacks
• Ukrainian Navy has destroyed a gas extraction platform seized by russia in 2014 with valuable military surveillance equipment
• The russians have launched the newly constructed railway line from Rostov-on-Don to the occupied Mariupol in Ukraine
• Ukraine struck a russian ammunition depot in Crimea. Satellite imagery published a few days after reveals the former ammo storage fully annihilated