As Ukraine’s fight to keep the Russian offensive from gaining more ground continues, its pilots in Soviet-era helicopters have been playing a crucial role on the frontline.
A Ukrainian commander from the 12th Army Aviation Brigade, speaking on the condition of anonymity with the Associated Press, explained that the Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters are playing a huge role in the war despite being older than he is.
“We are carrying out combat tasks to destroy enemy vehicles, enemy personnel, we are working with pitch-up attacks from a distance from where the enemy can’t get us with their air defense system,” said the commander.
While the conflict has primarily been one of artillery warfare focused on the ground, Ukraine’s helicopter brigades have stood out for their daring maneuvers and skillful flying in machines built over 40 years ago.
Performing several sorties a day, they often fly in teams of two or four. To avoid detection, they fly as far below the tree line as possible at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour. When they are close enough to fire on the enemy, they expose themselves to Russian anti-air defense systems.
“Every operation, every sortie is a heroic flight,” Oleksiy, a colonel and deputy commander from the 18th Brigade told The New York Times. “Many of the militaries of other countries would not undertake these flights in the face of such countermeasures.”
Helicopters have an important role in the conflict since they can respond more quickly to changes on the battlefield.
“These are helicopters from the last century,” Oleksiy explained to the NYT. Their missiles are likewise “very outdated and don’t meet the requirements of modern combat.”
Luckily, the Russians are flying the same kind of Soviet-era aircraft, although they have more of them and greater amounts of ammunition.
Some of the Ukrainian pilots suggested having more modern helicopters might give them an advantage.
“We need to master something new, something from abroad,” the commander from the 12th Brigade told the Associated Press. “It has better characteristics. You can maneuver more on it, there are more rockets on it and the weapons are more powerful. We can do more tasks with better quality and with less risk for us.”
Several countries have either already sent or have pledged to send helicopters to Ukraine since the war began.
The United States sent 16 Mi-17 helicopters last May and Great Britain sent three Sea Kings in November.
Ukraine has also begun to receive fighter jets from its allies, including 12 MiG-29s from Poland and 13 from Slovakia, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses might increase its military capacity and flexibility in a landscape of war that is constantly in flux.
“There is an offensive every time from both their side and ours. The situation is constantly changing, we are completing tasks,” the commander from the 12th Brigade told the Associated Press.
“I don’t know how to say it. Everything is new,” he added. “Because positions are changing, we have to prepare everything differently.”