Three MI-8 combat helicopters They take off from a secret base in Ukraine and fly low to their target near Bakhmut (east), where fighting against Russian troops has been concentrated for several months.
As they approach the target, one by one, the planes suddenly take off, launch rocket rainthey make a quick turn and return to their base, always at very low altitude.
The target was “in the line of enemy fortifications, consisting of ground troops, armored vehicles and an ammunition depot,” he explained. AFP Petro, one of the pilots, after his flight for about 30 minutes.
The target was near Severodonetska city captured by the Muscovite army last spring, located northeast of the city of Bakhmut, where the Kievan troops resist but are practically surrounded.
Since the Russian invasion just over a year ago, the pilots Ukrainian helicopters they perform dangerous tasks every day on old MI-8 and MI-24 aircraft.
23-year-old Peter already has fifty sorties under his belt.
“Before the flight, we choose a route and with the help of special applications we pass the lowest possible points. For example, if we see heights of 180 m, this is too high, then we look for lower places, and we find 130 m, 100 m … “- explains the pilot.
“The task is to fly below the level of the main landscape, so as not to be visible on Russian radars, so that they would not know until the last moment that we had arrived,” he continues in a pilot’s jacket and balaclava. that just leaves your eyes open.
30 missiles
In some impressive images captured by the camera AFP While in the cockpit throughout the mission, the landscapes follow each other at a speed of about 200 km/h and a few meters below the cockpit.
The device suddenly rises only for a short time when a shot is activated at a target programmed at a distance of 6100 m.
“When we are at a distance of 6200 m from the target, we climb 20 degrees (…) Then we launch rockets, 15 on each side,” he elaborates.
Ammunition is located in fixed cavities near the right and left sides of the helicopter.
Footage recorded from the device shows black smoke left behind by rockets after firing.
Right after that helicopter makes almost half a turn in a dive to the left and resumes a return low flight.
The way back is different from the way out “so as not to fall into a trap” and not be hit by Russian air defense, says Petro.
On the front line, infantry units launch a drone to check if the target has been hit. If this is not the case, “corrections for a new shot” are made, the pilot says. (AFP)
Source: RPP
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