https://twitter.com/Retiremyass/status/1667170160073900038?s=20

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410087)

http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353256&mc=3&forum_id=2

I have a special place in my heart for military helicopters and this puts to America to shame. We can't make a helicopter like that. Apaches still require a tail rotor. The blackhawk replacement won't require a tail rotor but look at it. We can't do coaxial rotors. Russia blew us out here.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410095)

https://imgur.com/a/xLjEgw7

The problem with the design was that it was too difficult to fly. America gave up on this design as inherently "too difficult to fly." Then Russia does this Ka-50 platform that's doing carthwheels in the air.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410121)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_hz0cdkjgU

Look at Apaches with those yuge engines jutting out just begging to get shot. Now see if you can even spot the engines on the Russian chopper. And guess what: no tail rotor either.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410227)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d9rnb0AXTVc/maxresdefault.jpg

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46445206)

https://i.imgur.com/zQMWvWS.jpeg

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#48100893)

https://twitter.com/MyLordBebo/status/1667132822182674433

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410257)

Meanwhile this is the best we can do to match it. Big huge ass transport plane that does vertical takeoff, not a nimble little tank murderer.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/06/bell-v-280-valor-will-replace-armys-legendary-black-hawk.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410796)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_X2

Number built: 1

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410809)

Number built: 2

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410810)

Number built: at least one

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410813)

Number built: 755

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410818)

Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that owns, leases, and manages commercial properties along the Eastern Coast of the United States.[1][2] Gyrodyne's headquarters are located in Saint James, New York, in Eastern Long Island. It was founded in 1946, initially as a helicopter design and manufacturing company.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410824)

https://youtu.be/A4jn_nnKMcY

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46410828)

https://twitter.com/AllenNext/status/1667477921395613702

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46411519)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi5l2BMxAxM

This is why Ukraine wants F-16s so badly. No one could figure out wtf they were gonna do them because Ukraine/USA didn't want to tell the world that Russia makes this beast of an aircraft. This design pwns the fuck out of anything the USA can even dream of building. Of course you have to shoot it from the sky because the engines are impossible to spot from below.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46411578)

https://twitter.com/Roberto05246129/status/1667562589520363520

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46411638)

https://www.sandboxx.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Bell-Helicopter-2-1333x750.webp

America is doing this is because it's all it can do. This tilt rotor shit is sad and needs to end. We are dun here. Start over.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46411778)

By

Sakshi Tiwari

February 21, 2023

The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) has reportedly modified its combat tactic after losing multiple attack helicopters, including the advanced Kamov Ka-52 ‘Alligator,’ in the ongoing Ukraine war.

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, Russia has lost almost 287 helicopters so far. Although the estimate does not factor in attack helicopter losses, some reports indicate that Ukrainian air defenses have obliterated one-eighth of the Russian combat chopper fleet.

In the latest development, has reportedly changed combat tactics to prevent its expensive, cutting-edge helicopters, especially the Ka-52 Alligator, from being shot down by Ukrainian surface-to-air and man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS).

First and foremost, they reduced the penetration distance and stopped flying deep into the Ukrainian territory. The report claims Russian helicopters like Ka-52s, Mi-28s, and Mi-24s rarely operate behind Ukrainian lines. They move along the front line, hitting Ukrainian targets with unguided or guided missiles.

The helicopters are still vulnerable to Ukrainian defenses, much less so than a year ago.

The second modification in the combat tactic brought about by the Russian military is instructing the Russian helicopter units deployed on the frontlines to provide more robust support against Ukrainian drone strikes and artillery barrages, which saw an uptick in the last few months.

Fortifications and other forms of protection have been built to protect the helicopters deployed at forward bases. The 440th Independent Helicopter Regiment was previously shown operating from inside a real fortress, metal containers, spare tires, and earthworks in a video published by the Kremlin.

Further, the third combat tactic was shifting to using helicopter cells within the same mission to ensure that if one helicopter in the cell does not have a specific combat capability, it can be provided by another helicopter participating in that mission.

For instance, EurAsian Times reported on joint missions undertaken by Ka-52 and the Mi-28, based on a video released by the Russian MoD last month. It showed the two choppers taking off together and the Ka-52 attacking Ukrainian ground positions, indicating how the Mi-8 MTPR-1 was tasked with disabling air defense radars to shield the Ka-52.

The strategy modifications have resulted from an unexpected combat loss of attack helicopters. It is pertinent to note that VKS attack helicopters like the Ka-52 or, Mi-28 and Mi-24 have to fly at fairly low altitudes to obliterate Ukrainian ground assets. However, that also means that they are easy targets for Ukrainian MANPADS.

In the ensuing conflict, Moscow lost several Ka-52s, which cost the country around 219 million rubles per chopper. The shift in tactics, even though not officially confirmed, would thus make sense as the country enters another year of war with no end to hostilities in sight.

Chopping Ks-52 Choppers

The Ka-52 “Alligator” is the most commonly deployed ground-attack platform in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. Since this chopper rolled out of production, it has been projected as one of the best attack helicopters in the world, with zero competitors.

Russia has maintained that the Alligator has better optics, night vision equipment, and precision missiles than other Russian gunships choppers like the Mi-24/35 Hind and Mi-28 Havok. Consequently, the Ka-52 fleet has been used more than other Russian gunships.

The Ka-52 attack helicopters reportedly stormed the Hostomel (Gostomel) airport on February 24, when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine to seize control of the landing strip. Several of these cutting-edge choppers have since been deployed and lost in combat.

According to the latest data gathered by the military tracking blog Oryx based on visual confirmations, Russia has so far lost at least 31 of these helicopters in Ukraine, or a fourth of the fleet of 140-141 K-52 helicopters, the VKS had in its inventory before the invasion.

Ka 52 russian helicopters

File Image: Ka-52 helicopters

The combined losses of the Mi-24/35 Hind and Mi-28 Havok fleets, which stood at 12 and 11, respectively, are practically equal to the number of Alligators lost.

The UK Ministry of Defense published a similar assessment in October 2022, stating Moscow lost more than a quarter of its fleet of Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopters in the ongoing conflict. At that time, the losses were pegged at around 23.

On the eleven-month anniversary of the invasion, on January 24, Ukraine announced that it had shot down three Ka-52 attack helicopters in just 30 minutes. At the time, a tweet from the Ukrainian Air Force stated that anti-aircraft missiles downed the helicopters.

The change in combat tactics to protect the Ka-52 and other attack choppers comes when Russia is believed to have deployed several fighter jets and attack helicopters along the border with Ukraine, sparking fears of an imminent aerial raid to mark the first anniversary of the invasion.

https://eurasiantimes.com/russian-military-changes-tactic-to-prevent-its-ka-52-alligators/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46412225)

-----------------

Video has emerged purporting to show a man preparing and planting explosives on a Russian military helicopter at an airbase deep inside Russia.

Subsequent satellite imagery shows several damaged helicopters at the base in Pskov region in northern Russia. The base is about 35 kilometers from the border with Latvia, but nearly 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine.

The sabotage of the helicopters is the furthest from Ukrainian territory that an attack has been confirmed against a Russian military target since the conflict began.

The video shows an unidentified man placing something inside a helicopter. At one point he puts something to his ear, possibly a timer. At another moment, a Ka-52 attack helicopter is clearly visible.

The video is shot in daylight but the explosions did not occur until after nightfall, according to unofficial Russian media. CNN has geolocated the video to the Veretye base at Beredniki.

Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 02, 2022.

Russia changes course, rejoins key Ukraine grain export deal

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said Tuesday that a “powerful explosion occurred at the air base of the Russian Armed Forces “Veretier” on the night of October 31.”

While not claiming a Ukrainian sabotage unit carried out the attack, it said that “as a result of mining, two Russian attack (KA-52) helicopters and one MI-28N were completely destroyed. Two more were significantly damaged.”

A satellite image published Tuesday showed several damaged helicopters at the base, and one unofficial Russian media outlet reported explosions there.

The Telegram channel Baza said: “At around 10 pm [on October 31], the military personnel of the unit heard several explosions, and then saw the scattered wreckage of two helicopters. The explosion was so strong that the fragments of the fuselage scattered 200 meters around. The reason for the Ka-52 explosion is unknown.”

Symbolism of the sabotage

Such an audacious attack, so far from home soil, would be a first for Ukraine’s special forces. While there is no confirmation they carried out the sabotage attack, the speed with which Ukrainian Defense Intelligence reported the details of the incident is at least intriguing.

The symbolism of the sabotage is perhaps more important than its military consequences. Russia has hundreds of combat helicopters, and those damaged were nowhere near the theater.

Ukrainian officials typically refuse to go on the record about any attacks in Russia itself, or even in annexed Crimea, but there have been several attacks much closer to Ukrainian territory since the Russian invasion began. Railway lines have been damaged in Belgorod, as have ammunition depots.

The Millerovo airbase in Rostov region was hit – apparently by Tochka missiles – right at the start of the conflict, and several aircraft were damaged. And it’s still unknown whether a devastating attack on a Russian air force base in Crimea in August was carried out by special forces on the ground or missiles.

The exact cause of last month’s attack on the Kerch Bridge is also unknown. And it seems the Ukrainians are quite happy not to acknowledge such attacks.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/europe/russia-helicopter-sabotage-video-intl/index.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46412656)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/10/26/ukraine-has-shot-down-a-quarter-of-russias-best-attack-helicopters/?sh=74b08b161879

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46412662)

https://youtu.be/fUHMnEWetZU?t=318

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46413382)

----------------

Ukrainian general Krivonos warns of total failure of counteroffensive

Criticism of Zelensky and warning about the danger of a counteroffensive

According to General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Krivonos, the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian troops is doomed to failure due to the lack of air support. It is worth noting that the same point of view was expressed by Major General of the AFU Zaluzhny during the meeting, but his opinion was ignored by President Zelensky.

"It should be realized that a successful counter-offensive requires strong air support. Ukraine hoped to receive F-16 fighters, but nothing was provided to us. I would suspend all operations if I were in the place of military leadership," the general admitted.

Alleged disaster and ground offensive

According to the general, with the current state of weapons, an attack by the AFU would be a disaster, since the Kyiv troops would become an easy target for the Russian army. All Western equipment, tanks and infantry fighting vehicles will quickly turn into a pile of burnt metal, Krivonos claims.

This is not the first time the general has raised the issue that an offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine without air support will be unsuccessful and lead to significant losses.

"Without air support, the offensive will be a nightmare, lead to huge losses and bring nothing. It is better to prolong the current situation, wait for air support and prepare," the former deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council said. "Russia has enough resources, and we have huge problems with weapons and ammunition. The Russians have every opportunity to attack."

https://twitter.com/Roberto05246129/status/1667727147954237442

Tweeted moments earlier:

https://twitter.com/Roberto05246129/status/1667726240256499712

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46413700)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46413836)

https://twitter.com/GammonBadge/status/1667774202886205440

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46414356)

https://twitter.com/MikaelValterss1/status/1667898527781986304?t=34M7U9y4oZ5B8ZwluQMLHQ&s=19

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46414524)

https://twitter.com/GammonBadge/status/1667984403287425029?s=20

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46415614)

http://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5271097&mc=81&forum_id=2

Biden genius triumph once again.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46415621)

https://twitter.com/tretter50001/status/1668000330456485892

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46415747)

https://twitter.com/TheHumanFund5/status/1668001532262973443

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46415762)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJsnZSysmzI

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46415849)

https://twitter.com/pati_marins64/status/1667631834077732864

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46416458)

https://twitter.com/tretter50001/status/1668065427572793347?s=20

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46416519)

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1668284480220459008?t=9BXIZQKv1mQHnjJzWnYYhw&s=19

Let's see what the circumstances were. Ukraine NEEDS this news badly. Watch it get blasted from all channels.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46418093)

https://youtu.be/AM-c5a3mAHU

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46422439)

https://i.imgur.com/C9zBxgS.png

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46422448)

https://youtu.be/AM-c5a3mAHU?t=100

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46423197)

https://twitter.com/MyLordBebo/status/1668892648596275200

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46425729)

"The SHORAD problem is exacerbated by the very real lack of systems in this class in the U.S. inventory and in the inventories of its many allies. Post-Cold War, the United States and much of NATO neglected SHORAD capabilities, confident in the likelihood of air superiority in most likely combat zones. While Ukraine shows that the tactical realities of the modern battlefield have changed dramatically, backfilling the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ inventory with suitable systems is not an easy task."

9 mile range on that new missile is also absurd. How are they targeting at that range? Article makes a good point that these things operate best at night because it makes them even harder to spot.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46434625)

Stunned and disappointed that NSAM wasn’t able to find this article on his own

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46434686)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46433188)

https://twitter.com/GuyPlopsky/status/1669482444821786624

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46434663)

https://twitter.com/djuric_zlatko/status/1670156654917169153

The problem is they are spread too far apart at the airbases for even a storm shadow to take out more than one, and even that would require one of these helicopters to sit in one place for quite some time. Either that or they are getting satellite recon and somehow detecting these in satellite images within ~1 hour. Otherwise if I'm Russia I'm just moving these things around, doing maintenance in the field where possible, keeping expensive equipment far from big hangars that look like obvious targets for storm shadows. Let Ukraine blow up some empty hangars. Sucks to lose hangars, but the good news is Ukraine doesn't have enough storm shadows or ATACMS to do much else. Air defense should also be tight at these airfields.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46439055)

June 17, 2023 8:49 am ET

Ukraine said its forces were advancing on several axes in their counteroffensive but were struggling to counter Russian air and artillery superiority hobbling its assaults in the east and south.

Now into its second week, Ukraine’s ambitious attempt to take back Russian-occupied land is proving to be a hard slog against dense minefields and well-prepared defenses. After Ukraine’s first probing attacks yielded mixed results, its forces have mostly paused their advances in recent days as commanders take stock of the past two weeks and analyze ways to punch through Russian lines without taking huge losses.

Russia has taken advantage of its superior air power and Kyiv’s limited air defenses to strike Ukrainian armored columns and stop several attacks, destroying some of the sophisticated Western weaponry Ukraine is fielding.

The U.K.’s Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence briefing on Saturday that Russia had bolstered its force of attack helicopters in occupied Berdyansk, some 60 miles behind the front line in Ukraine’s south, with more than 20 additional helicopters deployed there.

The move further strengthens Russian air-power potential in the region. Helicopters have successfully fired long-range missiles against Ukrainian ground targets that have had little protection from air-defense systems, the British Defense Ministry said. “In the constant contest between aviation measures and counter-measures, it is likely that Russia has gained a temporary advantage in southern Ukraine,” it said in a post to Twitter.

But Ukrainian officials have struck an upbeat tone in the face of the challenges, saying that their forces have moved forward in a number of areas despite not yet posing a direct threat to Russia’s main defensive lines, built up over months in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.

“Ukraine is seizing the initiative. Russia is on the defensive,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Volodymyr Havrylov said on Saturday, though he said Kyiv urgently needed long-range artillery capable of striking targets far behind the front line and disabling Russian ammunition and logistics hubs.

In the eastern Donbas region, Ukrainian forces have been advancing on the flanks around Bakhmut, the city Russia recently captured after many months of brutal combat. Hanna Malyar, another Ukrainian deputy defense minister, said the intensity of fighting around Bakhmut had lessened and acknowledged that Russia had the upper hand in terms of aviation and artillery forces.

But Malyar said Ukraine was pressing ahead in its campaign to encircle Russian forces around the city, seeking to take up positions overlooking Bakhmut from which it could strike Russian units. Russia is reinforcing its presence around the city, Malyar said, moving troops there from other areas while also bolstering units defending parts of the south.

“Our forces are on the offensive in several areas, occupying dominant positions and forested areas with a view to gradually push the enemy out of the approaches into Bakhmut,” Malyar said late on Friday.

Meanwhile, Russia has continued drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian cities as it seeks to deplete their stocks of expensive air-defense munitions and keep such systems deployed away from the eastern front line. Ten Ukrainian regions were attacked in the 24 hours leading into Saturday morning, according to reports from local authorities compiled by Ukrainska Pravda, Ukraine’s leading news outlet.

Oleh Synehubov, the governor of Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine, said on Saturday that four people were killed when an antitank rocket struck a vehicle in a village near the Russian border.

Write to Matthew Luxmoore at matthew.luxmoore@wsj.com

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46440891)

is ukraine growing stronger? why do the bongs think this is temporary?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46440992)

https://twitter.com/ELuttwak/status/1670600686776512514?t=fruE_zmmQ9Mw7_MpxhMBLQ&s=19

Kornets are not the problem. I assumed it was kornets early on too, but it's Vikhrs. None of this armor will do shit. The penetrating charge burns the same as our DU rounds. No word yet on what it's made of.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46442950)

https://twitter.com/WarMonitors/status/1670812670331846656

People are still mystified by this rotor design, because it's technology America quietly abandoned and doesn't want to talk about:

https://twitter.com/JoshVegas6/status/1670812887349166083

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46445174)

https://twitter.com/WarMonitors/status/1670824609879392256

LOL:

https://twitter.com/Niiles2nd/status/1670839111140114435

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46445189)

In one of the campaign’s early battles near Orikhiv, in Zaporizhzhia province, a Ukrainian infantry company drove into a minefield and reportedly came under fire from Alligators, losing several US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and a German-built Leopard 2 tank.

It was unclear how many vehicles were destroyed or later recovered. Nor has Kyiv shed light on to how many Ukrainian soldiers were killed. But images of that battle, shared by Russian media and pro-war bloggers, spoke powerfully of the obstacles Ukraine’s forces will have to overcome.

Ukrainian troops and western analysts and officials have long highlighted the role of aviation, including Russian fighter jets and attack helicopters in picking off Ukrainian armour, and the lack of air defences at the frontline to deter them.

“I personally saw how, during our assault, the enemy [fighter jet] aircraft immediately fired on our advancing troops using laser guided bombs from a far distance,” said Stas, a soldier with an elite drone surveillance unit helping infantry regain lost territory in the south of the country. It was not an isolated incident, he said.

Russia’s use of helicopters to attack armour was a “very powerful technique” to which Ukraine had no parity, said Stas, pleading for the west to provide Ukraine with US Apache attack choppers, in addition to F-16 fighter jets.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week paid tribute to his forces for continuing to press into Russian-held territory despite Moscow’s “air and artillery superiority”.

Earlier this month, Russia deployed an additional 20 helicopters including Alligators to an airfield near Berdyansk, 100km from Orikhiv, which has become a leading base for rotary wing operations.

“In the constant contest between aviation measures and countermeasures, it is likely that Russia has gained a temporary advantage in southern Ukraine, especially with attack helicopters employing longer-range missiles against ground targets,” Britain’s defence intelligence tweeted over the weekend.

Despite its technical superiority, Russia’s air force never gained control of Ukrainian skies thanks to Ukraine’s extensive Soviet-era air defences later bolstered by western systems. Russian fighters straying too far over the frontline into Ukrainian territory risked being shot down.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visits a helicopter manufacturing plant in Ulan-Ude, eastern Russia

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, left, at a helicopter manufacturing plant in Ulan-Ude, eastern Russia. Russian fighter jets and helicopters are exploiting deficiencies in Ukraine’s air defences © Sergei Ilyin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool/AP

Russian fighter jets and helicopters are now exploiting deficiencies in Ukraine’s air defences at the frontline. Kyiv operates different Soviet-era surface-to-air missile systems, but has too few to provide full cover, leaving it partly reliant on very short-range shoulder-launched missiles (Manpads) which require the operator to see the target before shooting.

“Manpads are not very effective at night,” said a Ukrainian air force pilot. “We need systems with detection and guidance — radar or optical-electronic systems,” the pilot added.

Justin Bronk, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think-tank, said Russian helicopters fitted with anti-tank guided missiles “were always going to be a much greater threat to Ukrainian forces during a counteroffensive than during periods when Ukraine was defending against Russian attacks”.

“They can hover, spot for targets and fire anti-tank guided missiles from beyond the range of shoulder-fired Manpads or anti-aircraft fire,” Bronk said.

This leaves Ukrainian forces having to constantly balance the risk of deploying their scarce surface-to-air missile systems closer to the front lines against the cost of leaving their armoured vehicles exposed to Russian gunfire.

As Russian missile strikes against multiple Ukrainian cities have intensified since early May, Ukraine’s armed forces had to keep their surface-to-air missile systems in place to protect the civilian population rather than moving them to the frontline. The losses in the opening battles of the counteroffensive to Ukrainian forces has set off a rush by western allies to supply additional air defence systems and ammunition to Kyiv.

Britain last week said that together with the US, Denmark and the Netherlands it was purchasing “hundreds of short and medium range air defence systems”, largely Soviet era, to be delivered in the coming weeks.

On Monday, Emmanuel Macron, president of France, announced Franco-Italian SAMP-T systems pledged earlier were now “operational” in Ukraine.

“The most important problem for Ukraine is that we need to do two air defence tasks simultaneously — to protect major urban areas and industry . . . and the frontline,” said Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at the Kyiv-based National Institute for Strategic Studies. “It’s a challenge as we have a shortage of land-based [air defences].”

Bielieskov cautioned that those systems could themselves become targets to Russian Lancet kamikaze drones.

The Ka-52 helicopter is hardly infallible. When Russia’s defence ministry broadcast a video of one striking a Leopard tank in an open field, western analysts ascertained the destroyed target was, embarrassingly for Moscow, a crop sprayer.

The Alligator is also highly vulnerable to surface to air missiles when in range. Russia has lost at least 35 of them since February last year, according to Oryx, which documents equipment losses in the war. Colonel Yuriy Ignat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force, claimed four had been shot down in the last week.

Ignat played down the threat from Russian attack helicopters during the counteroffensive.

“The Ka-52 is absolutely not a helicopter that establishes air superiority,” Ignat said, nor did it deliver “the kind of firepower that is decisive on the battlefield”.

The greater aviation threat to Ukraine’s forces came from Russian fighter jets which had more powerful radars and longer-range missiles than Ukraine’s older Soviet-built aircraft, Ignat said. The vulnerability of Ukrainian forces underscored the need for western-made jets, such as the F-16, he said.

Stas, the drone operator, said Ukraine needed F-16s and US helicopters to protect ground forces.

“Offensive actions require air cover and the most important thing now is the offensive, because if we do not swiftly win this war, if we do not take back all of our territory, it will drag on and on,” he said.

Additional reporting by John Paul Rathbone in London

https://www.ft.com/content/d8fe8941-3703-433d-ac7a-dab9ba500481

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46453222)

The 39th Separate Helicopter Regiment of the Army Aviation of the RuAF is now called the elite "Guards" by the presidential decree.

Ka-52 decimation of columns of Western-made armored vehicles including Leopard tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was not in vain.

10:19 AM · Jun 21, 2023

https://twitter.com/Trollstoy88/status/1671523196544139266

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46454096)

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1672558135469326337?s=20

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46472745)

https://twitter.com/GammonBadge/status/1676435754694713346?t=9YBUCaCBHFp6H81fkPU6Bg&s=19

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46510236)

https://twitter.com/narrative_hole/status/1679844188186112000?s=20

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46549484)

https://twitter.com/SpriterTeam/status/1677605810946420738?s=20

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46549488)

http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5374229&mc=3&forum_id=2

Here are a few things to consider:

- we didn't see footage of the missile in action until after Ukraine announced it was accepting depleted uranium rounds from the UK.

- even though Ukraine announced it would accept DU rounds from the UK, it STFU them at warp speed. You won't see Ukraine or UK sources say a word about DU rounds anymore. Something spooked them into silence.

- In order to prove Russia is using DU rounds, you'd have to have collect fragments of what you believe was the penetrating round from a shell. That's probably hard to do if the shell was already used. Properly designed DU penetrators should just burn the fuck up when exposed to oxygen. You shouldn't be finding pieces of DU among the debris unless the missile was designed poorly something went wrong. The other way to prove it would be to capture one of the missiles intact, but it doesn't look like Ukraine has done that (odd case since they claim to have shot down so many Ka-52s).

- even if Ukraine could prove Russia is using DU, it can't complain about it, because Ukraine already announced that it would be using DU rounds against Russia. There's no point in even mentioning it since it's just going to lower morale among Ukrainian troops. You want your guys to think its safe to roll out in Bradleys, so you'll want to downplay the enemy's capabilities.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46558582)

https://twitter.com/IntelCrab/status/1688697964040974340

He's missing the point. The engineering that went into this chopper is cute, but it's the missiles that are doing the killing. No one knew Russia had missiles with same or better range and explosive force than hellfires. This thread is two months old now, so Ukraine has had at least that long to come up with a fix.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46641846)

https://twitter.com/_Surovikin_/status/1697547635354153183

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#46745267)

https://twitter.com/GhostyZov/status/1730688481465147591?t=xw_pTSzRYkeOd6crRY-YnQ&s=19

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#47121605)

https://x.com/hy3ze0_m/status/1678486752489619456?s=20

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#47435911)

Eat my shit.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#47588751)

@BowesChay

Russias KA52 "Aligator" has become the world's foremost combat veteran helicopter.

It has destroyed literally thousands of Ukrainian vehicles, tanks, and even other aircraft.

Russia now has a globally unrivalled cadre of veteran combat pilots. With thousands of sorties made.

https://twitter.com/BowesChay/status/1835965930284736910

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#48100878)

"By mid-2023, Russian pilots had shifted to low-altitude operations and high-angle indirect fire, known as “lofting,” where helicopters briefly pop up to launch unguided rockets or missiles from a distance before retreating behind cover.

This tactic reduced exposure to Ukrainian air defenses, though it also compromised strike accuracy. Thus, the Ka-52’s effectiveness in some key scenarios was limited as a result. But ever since Russia incorporated the aforementioned LMUR missile into the Ka-52’s arsenal, the Ka-52’s efficacy in combat has expanded greatly.

In fact, the Ka-52s have gotten much better at anti-drone missions. For instance, this last May, Ka-52s were actually deployed to intercept Ukrainian drones that had been sent to attack targets in Moscow. The Ka-52s used 30mm autocannons and Igla anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down the attacking drones. This unconventional use underscored the helicopter’s adaptability in response to emerging threats, such as Ukraine’s increasing drone operations targeting Russian territory."

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-ka-52-alligator-helicopter-raining-fire-ukraine-bw

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5353369&forum_id=2#49112407)