A recording from the Russian Leningrad Oblast has appeared on the Internet, showing a local Mi-24 attack helicopter, whose capabilities we recall, chasing an unidentified drone – the Defense Romania website reported.
The short recording posted online comes from an unspecified location in Leningrad Oblast – east of Moscow and bordering Estonia and Finland. In the record The crew of the Mi-24 helicopter is seen following the unidentified drone, but avoided firing. Defense Romania points out that this could be due to the fact that the UAV was in a densely populated area at the time.
The quality of the recording does not allow identification of the specific model of UAV the helicopter was chasing. “The drone has a typical aerodynamic design,” we read. It may have been a structure reminiscent of the famous Birker.
Additionally, it is unknown whether the Russian pilots ultimately shot down the drone. It's also not clear from which source the drone seen in the video came from – but it cannot be ruled out that it is Ukrainian-owned equipment. Defenders have already proven that they have machines that can reach even St. Petersburg (located in Leningrad Oblast). The area has already been the target of Ukrainian machine-gun attacks several times.
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A helicopter following a drone is extremely rare, and while drones are usually shot down by ground systems, it is notable that in the past the Russian Air Force has shot down a drone heading towards Crimea.
The Mi-24 (referred to in NATO code as Hind) is a heavy combat helicopter designed by Mila Design Bureau. This machine was produced in the years 1970-1989 and due to its specific design, it has no equivalent in western machines. The Mi-24 can carry up to eight soldiers. The Mi-35M and Mi-24 Super Hind modernizations are based on this model to date.
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The Mi-24 is powered by two TW3-177MT turboshaft engines that produce 2,200 HP each. They allow the helicopter weighing almost 8.5 tons to travel at a maximum speed of 335 kmph and a top speed of 270 kmph. The static ceiling of this helicopter reaches 1.3 km, and the dynamic ceiling is a maximum of 5 km. The nominal range of the Mi-24 is less than 600 km, but if additional fuel tanks are installed it can reach more than 1,100 km.
The armament of the Russian Mi-24 is in the form of a 12.7 mm JakB-12.7 machine gun in a mount and 9M17P Scorpion-B guided and unguided rockets. UB-32A-24 pods with 57mm S-5 missiles or B-8W-20 pods with S-8 missiles. The helicopter can also carry bombs weighing a maximum of 250 kg each.
Norbert Garbarek, journalist for Virtualna Polska
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