File image.
On February 18, Russian news sources shared footage showing fighters of the Wagner Group shooting down a Ukrainian helicopter near the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region with man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADs).
Wagner fighters fired at least two Soviet-made 9K32M Strela-2M or 9K34 Strela-3 missiles at the military helicopter, which was reportedly a Mi-8/17.
The Strela-2M has a maximum range of 4,200 meters and a top altitude of 2,300 meters, while the Strela-3 can engage targets at a range of up to 4,500 meters and at an altitude of up to 3,000 meters. Both MAPNADs are guided by infrared homing. However, the Strela-3 features a more advanced seeker with an all-aspect attack capability.
The Strela-2M is armed with a 1.15 kg directed-energy blast fragmentation warhead. The Strela-3 carries a similar 1.17 kg warhead, with a 20 gram secondary charge to set off remaining rocket propellant.
The Russian military inherited thousands of Strela-2M and Strela-3 MANPADs after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Over the past three decades, most of these MANPADs were replaced with more capable systems, like the 9K38 Igla, 9K38 Igla-S and the 9K333 Verba.
The older MANPADs were apparently provided to the Wagner Group to further enhance Russian air defenses right on the frontline in the special military operation zone.
Those Banderites are now looking up, together with psionist slave John bomb, bomb, bomb McCain and Oskar Dirlenwanger.
Why havent US bombed Iran long time ago? Iran is part of the axis of evilness.
Iran are Saint’s alongside Murica!
What do the inbred faggy muzlims have to do with this article?
Don’t forget the Ghost of Kiev the ultimate warhero.
He is the next after Mickey Mouse.
The ghost of Kiev is actually a real thing. It’s what the SBU nicknamed Zelensky after his first cocaine fueled bender…
During my army service in GDR (east Germany), I was trained to operate the Strela-2M. We were told to leave our position immediately after the shot in order to avoid retaliatory artillery strikes. Obviously, the Wagner man was not afraid of such a danger. ;-)
Ukraine and Russia have been fighting over Donetsk in one year by now.
Yesterday AFU fired 4 missiles into Donbass killing a lot of civilians. Today Wagner fired 4 missiles back killing a lot of our slavic brothers of Ukraine.
Its all our equal Western partners fault…………….or?
well, seems like that target was over 3km out
Hot shootin Byes!
Nije mi jasno što ne koriste protutenkovske snajpere velikoga kalibra? Puno su jeftiniji i nemaju nikakvu mogućnost otkrivanja kad naciljaš. Tzv. ručni top snajper od najmanje 20mm bez problema ruši bilo koji helikopter sa nekoliko stotina metara!!!
Duzina kabine Mi-8 je oko 10 metara, visina oko 4 metra, brzina leta Mi-8 je oko 170km/h ili 65m/s, brzina leta granate 20mm je oko 900m/s, rasturanje pogodaka topa 20mm je oko 2 metra na 1km, ili oko 6 metara na 3km. Cak i ako helopter stoji imas oko 60% sanse da ga jednim hicem pogodis na 3km. Ako leti brzinom od 65m/s sanse da ga pogodis su oko 12%, sanse da ga unistis jednim pogotkom je oko8%… Verovatnoca pogotka S-2M je 95%, sansa da unistis helikopter prvim pogotkom je 84%… Izbor oruzja je ocigledan…
Svakako mislim da je jeftinije, brže i lakše opremiti veći broj vojnika sa takvim puškama,nego rpgovima, bazukama i sličnim oružjem, usto neka ima zapaljivo kulminativno streljivo i nijedan ukrajinski, a pogotovo nato helikopter nema šanse. Postotci na papiru i stvarnost su dvije različite stvari!!
Upravo o stvarnosti i govorim. Inace, neuporedivo jednostavnije je napraviti jednu Strelu nego cev topa 20mm.
Using a Mi-8 for assault purposes means ukroshits are desperate ! But they have no other ways since the airforce is almost equal to ZERO.
The Wagner terrorists finally learned how to use a MANPAD? It’s a little late now. The Putin cockroaches already hate their guts after all the moronic boasting they did last summer and failing to capture Bakhmut.
Sawyer mummified face helicopter my anus
Could this chopper have been on a mission to evacuate (possibly wester/nato/us) leadership from UA ranks, due to roads now being under fire control? If so, I wonder who the victims were?