File image.
Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters have been actively hunting down Ukrainian drones using an air-launched version of the Igla man-portable air defense system (MANPADS).
Video footage posted to social networks on June 24 shows a Ka-52 successfully shooting down two drones with the air-launched version of the MANPADS, known as the Igla-V. The helicopter apparently detected and locked on the drone with its electro-optical system before firing the missiles.
Igla-V missiles are guided via infrared homing and have a fire-and-forget capability. The range of the system is reported to be five kilometers.
The use of the system was reported before, but in recent months it has apparently become the weapon of choice for taking down Ukrainian drones.
The Ka-52 can be armed with at least four Igla-V missiles. The system can be also installed on several other types of attack helicopters, including the Mi-28N and Mi-35M.
Helicopters can fly at low altitudes and speeds which make them very suitable for intercepting slow and small aerial targets like drones.
The Ka-52 is in particular very effective in this role as it is equipped with Arbalet-52 dual-band coherent pulse radar and the GOES-451 electro-optical targeting system which are said to be capable of detecting aerial targets from a range up to 15 kilometers.
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