File image.
Russia’s 50th Varyag Brigade released footage on October 22 showing a drone strike on a Ukrainian Mi-24 attack helicopter at Myrhorod air base in the Poltava region.
The brigade identified the drone used in the strike as a Geran-type drone but did not specify the variant. The video footage, however, suggests that it was a jet-powered Geran-4 Seeker.
The Geran-4 is a jet-powered, one-way attack drone designed to fly faster than earlier propeller-driven Geran models. Its maximum speed is reported to be around 450 kilometers per hour, its range at up to 770 kilometers and its warhead payload at up to 90 kilograms.
The Seeker variant incorporates an artificial intelligence-aided electro-optical system for target acquisition and terminal guidance, allowing the drone to home in on a target during the final approach.
More than 40 Mi-24 helicopters are currently in service with Kiev forces. Many of these helicopters were delivered to Ukraine after the start of the Russian special military operation some two years ago, by the Czech Republic, Poland and North Macedonia.
Wikipedia’s list of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the conflict says that Ukraine has lost at least 21 of these helicopters. The real losses are likely even higher.
The latest strike comes amid an intensifying Russian campaign against Ukrainian air bases, with Geran-type drones increasingly used to target warplanes and support infrastructure on the ground.
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