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​How U.S. Developed Own Anti-Aircraft Drone But Ukraine Became First to Use One in Combat

The russian Mi-28 in the view of the FPV drone's camera seconds before the hit / Screenshot credits: Serhii Sternenko, M2 unit of the Security Service of Ukraine
The russian Mi-28 in the view of the FPV drone's camera seconds before the hit / Screenshot credits: Serhii Sternenko, M2 unit of the Security Service of Ukraine
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The episode of Ukrainian forces downing a russian attack helicopter with a cheap and expendable FPV drone is historic as it opens a new page of development in the long-neglected niche of interceptor drones

Strike on a russian Mi-28 helicopter over the Ukrainian battlefields, with a hit landing on its tail, is a remarkable event, not only from a technical but also a historic point of view. For one, it became the first recorded instance of a helicopter taking a hit from a drone, unprecedented in war history. Secondly, it's significant as a milestone on the path of developing cheap and mass-produced, hence efficient air defense weapons. Ukrainian engineers have been heavily invested in this effort since the very outbreak of russia's larger invasion.

And Ukrainians are not alone. The search for an effective solution against hostile drones and loitering munitions was pursued by many, including U.S. weapon makers. Raytheon's (now renamed as RTX) Coyote was conceptually similar in its inception, although transformed drastically in the process of development. But let's start from the beginning, one step at a time.

Read more: ​FPV Revolution: Ukrainian Drone Intercepts a russian Mi-28 Helicopter
Coyote Block 2 launch from a Fixed Site LIDS system / Defense Express / How U.S. Developed Own Anti-Aircraft Drone But Ukraine Became First to Use One in Combat
Coyote Block 2 launch from a Fixed Site LIDS system / Illustrative photo credit: RTX

The mentioned episode of the Mi-28 downing featured an unmanned aerial vehicle described as a first-person-view (FPV) drone, namely a small copter usually fitted with a battery and a grenade or warhead attached for explosive action. In a simplified way, it was the first propeller-driven weapon to ever hit a helicopter. But not the first one designed.

Illustrative photo: the only photo available of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft FPV drone. In this photo, it takes down a ZALA-series reconnaissance drone. The latter managed to capture the FPV on camera moments before taking a fatal hit / Defense Express / How U.S. Developed Own Anti-Aircraft Drone But Ukraine Became First to Use One in Combat
Illustrative photo: the only picture available of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft FPV drone. In this photo, it takes down a ZALA-series reconnaissance drone. The latter managed to capture the FPV on camera moments before taking a fatal hit / Open-source screenshot

Long before the start of the russian armed invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were attempts to create a simple counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) solution. A system known as the FS-LIDS deploys effectors named Coyote Block 2, a subsonic jet-propelled interceptor drone with a target engagement range of 15 kilometers.

Its predecessor, Coyote Block 1, was an electric-powered, propeller-driven drone similar in design to Switchblade loitering munitions. However, tests showed that this configuration could not produce a kinetic energy high enough to effectively strike down aerial threats, so the propeller was replaced with a jet engine in the next modification.

Now the original Coyote is mostly used for hurricane research by specialists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States / Defense Express / How U.S. Developed Own Anti-Aircraft Drone But Ukraine Became First to Use One in Combat
The original Coyote, meanwhile, is mostly used for hurricane research by specialists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States / Archive photo credit: NOAA

That brings us to the point that Ukrainian FPV interceptor drones might need many improvements before they reach their full potential and become a fully capable threat to russian rotorcraft aviation. Still, the fact is that their development is facilitated by real application experience and tangible losses inflicted to the enemy forces, even though the damage can be fixed by repairs. For now, that is.

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