"Experiencing a Hit, Plummeting Descend!": Naval Drone Successfully Brings Down Russian Helicopter
Today on its Telegram feed, Ukraine's military intelligence service posted a video of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter being brought down.
According to the post: “On December 31, 2024, members of Ukraine's special unit, Defence Intelligence's 'Group 13', successfully hit an air target for the first time in history using a Magura V5 naval attack drone equipped with missile weapons.”
This development, though not entirely surprising, is still significant. Ukraine's drone boats have played a crucial role in pushing out a significant portion of the Russian fleet from the Black Sea, thus boosting the sea route for Ukrainian grain exports. This latest success will only make the boats harder to stop.
A Victory for 'FrankenSAM'
Drone boats have previously engaged Russian helicopters with machine guns, but the successful use of a surface-to-air missile is a first.
The Magura is one of Ukraine's most advanced drone boats or Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs). Back in May, a Magura was displayed with what was referred to as a 'FrankenSAM' arrangement: a pair of AA-11 Archer air-to-air missiles installed in an improvised surface launcher. The AA-11, known in Russia as R-73, is an infra-red, heat-seeking missile similar to the U.S. AIM-9 Sidewinder. It has a range of around 20 miles.
It appears the Ukrainians prioritized defending their drone boats over engaging in air-to-air combat and adapted the AA-11 for naval use, which is one of several unconventional but effective projects such as 'FrankenSAM'.
The successful shootdown of the helicopter proves the concept's effectiveness. Its success was far from certain: aiming a missile from a rocking boat is a completely different challenge compared to aiming from an aircraft, and required effective stabilization.
Sea Engagements
The 1:47 video shows what appears to be gunfire striking the water around the Magura drone boat, suggesting it was under attack. Helicopters armed with 23mm cannon or heavy machine guns can easily sink small boats, and are the best method for stopping kamikaze boats before they become a threat to shipping. However, in this instance, the hunter became the hunted.
The video shows a helicopter through a thermal imager, shining bright against the dark sky, and the firing of a missile. The video is indistinct, and there is considerable movement from the boat's rocking, but it appears to show the helicopter becoming a flaming wreck and diving into the sea.
The video goes on to show a second helicopter, this one launching infrared flares to distract heat-seeking missiles, and another surface-to-air missile launch.
According to Ukrainian intelligence: “During the battle in the Black Sea near Cape Tarkhankut in the temporarily occupied Crimea, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed as a result of the use of R-73 SeeDragon missiles. Another similar enemy helicopter suffered fire damage and was able to reach the home airfield.”
It is not clear from the video if the second helicopter was actually damaged, but this seems plausible.
Intercepted radio communications reportedly include the pilot saying “482, I'M HIT, GOING DOWN!"
The intercept continues: "There was an explosion — I got hit. The launch came from the water. Then there was another flash. I didn't see where it went, but the first one hit me directly and exploded nearby — I felt it on the helicopter. Some systems have failed."
Cost Analysis
The main benefit of drone boats like the Magura is their affordability. At around a quarter of a million dollars each, the boats cost less than an anti-ship missile and can be used in kamikaze attacks. Adding guided missiles to them significantly increases their cost. While Ukraine may have had some surplus R-73s they could repurpose, even the small shoulder-launched Stingers supplied by the U.S. cost around $480,000 each, or around twice the cost of a Magura. Putting two on a Magura would greatly surpass the boat's cost.
On this logic, it might seem obvious to purchase more boats instead of missiles. But outfitting just a few of the attacking force with missiles turns it into a risky proposition for helicopter crews attempting to intercept them. Maybe the helicopters can fire at the drones with impunity, but maybe they themselves will be targeted. This threat means that an entire attack force can be protected with just a few missiles. Given that even a cheap secondhand Mi-8 costs something over $10m, it's unlikely the Russians will take the risk.
The Russians have already experimented with launching FPV attack drones from helicopters to counter drone boats. These drones can strike from a greater distance, making the helicopters less vulnerable, but are not as quick and efficient as going in with automatic cannon. The challenge of taking out several boats heading towards a target will be much greater.
Naval warfare may be entering a new era, one which belongs to the drones.
(Interestingly, the U.S. Navy is already considering drone boats with anti-aircraft missiles under a project called 'Multi-domain Area Denial from Small-USV' or MADS. This aims to integrate Stinger launchers onto existing uncrewed boats to provide “low-cost, persistent anti-air and anti-surface maritime defense capability.” The goal is to deploy a large number of these MADS vessels, making them too numerous to destroy.)
In the realm of aerospace and defense businesses, Ukraine's successful use of an AA-11 Air-to-Air missile on a Russian Mi-8 helicopter could significantly impact future strategies. This strategic move demonstrates Ukraine's innovative approach to adapt and utilize its resources, such as the 'FrankenSAM' project, to defend its assets against larger and more powerful adversaries.
Given the affordability of Ukraine's Magura drone boats, outfitting a few with advanced missile systems like the AA-11 could pose a significant threat to enemy helicopters, potentially shifting the balance of power in aerospace and defense business operations.
