On January 17, the Russian Defense Ministry published footage of the combat work of crews of multi-purpose attack helicopters, a fire support group of army aviation during a special military operation.
As noted in the military department, the helicopters take off in twos, and the air search assault group follows, at a distance that does not prevent the attack vehicles from performing combat missions.
The fire cover group on board the Mi-8 includes riflemen, machine gunners and a medic. If necessary, the Mi-8 can strike enemy manpower with unguided missiles.
"We are performing tasks to search for victims. We fly into the area where the victims are, take them away. We cover if there is a clash at the moment. And even if there is no clash, we conduct cover, surveillance. We take the victim, get into the helicopter and fly away," said the machine gunner of the fire support group with the call sign "Zolotoy".
Mi-8 escort columns of Russian troops, cover their movement from the air. From a height, it is easier for servicemen to detect an ambush and hit saboteurs or roaming mortars.
It is reported that the helicopters fly at extremely low altitude to exclude detection by enemy air defense (air defense) means. The heat traps must take on the impact of anti-aircraft missiles.
The Ministry of Defense clarified that multi-purpose attack helicopters at a speed of more than 200 km/h hit enemy firing points and armored vehicles from the cab. Cabring is performed for firing unguided aircraft at targets at a great distance. They fly as if on a suspended trajectory for several kilometers into the distance. For the enemy, this maneuver is extremely sudden: emerging from behind the trees, the helicopter seems to appear out of nowhere.
After completing the combat mission, the helicopters return to the airfield. The kit has to be rebooted several times a day. The high consumption is due to frequent departures.
"Upon the arrival of this board, we meet him. The crew tells us comments, if there are any on this equipment, on this node. After that, we service a helicopter, some kind of node, refuel it with fuel, recharge it with missiles as well, the helicopter is very good," the aircraft technician with the call sign "Screw" specified.
Fire support groups replace each other. Each departure is unique and does not repeat the previous one. Navigators work through more than fifty of them a month. Pilots say that in such helicopter balancing act, the percentage of improvisation of pilots is always high. Using intelligence data, crews change routes every time. They appear unexpectedly, beat, disappear into nowhere. Not only during the day, but also at night.
While some crews of the army aviation of the Western Military District are just returning from a combat mission, others are already preparing for departure. In the take—off and landing mode, the airfield operates without interruptions. At the same time, each combat mission is preceded by scrupulous preflight preparation.
Earlier, on January 11, it was reported that the Aerospace Forces of Russia began using upgraded Ka-52 attack helicopters equipped with high-precision missiles "Product 305" in the special operation zone.
On December 28, the crews of the Mi-35 and Mi-28 multi-purpose attack helicopters of the army aviation of the Far East destroyed armored vehicles and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) during a special military operation.
Before that, on December 20, the Ministry of Defense showed how the crews of Ka-52 attack helicopters destroyed strong points and armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the sorties, the pilots of the army aviation launched unguided aircraft missiles at the detected fortified points and areas of concentration of enemy manpower.
The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.