Special weapon of the Ukrainians teaches Russian attack helicopters fear

Ukrainian forces apparently shot down a Russian helicopter with a MANPADS. What makes the light weapon so valuable?

Kyiv - Armed Forces of Ukraine have apparently shot down another Russian attack helicopter - once again with a special and simple weapon: MANPADS. According to British experts, Russia has already lost numerous helicopters as a result.

"Today, the enemy Mi-24 attack helicopter was eliminated by forces of the Royal Brigade," the 24th Mechanized Brigade wrote on Facebook on Monday (May 22). An anti-aircraft gunner stopped the helicopter near the village of New York in the Donetsk region "with a well-aimed shot from the MANPADS 'Igla'," it added. After the hit, "the enemy helicopter crashed into enemy-controlled territory near the temporarily occupied Horlivka."

Ukraine shoots down Russian attack helicopter with special weapon MANPADS

MANPADS is a weapon that ground units use to defend against air attacks. MANPADS is the abbreviation for ManPortable Air Defense Ssystem. On German, one would say one-man surface-to-air missile.

A soldier holds a MANPADS of the "Igla" type. © IMAGO / SNA

For the Ukrainian armed forces, the shoulder-launched anti-aircraft system provided by the allies plays an important role in the Ukraine war. They can be operated by just one soldier, weigh a maximum of 20 kilograms and are around 1.80 meters long. "MANPADS are highly effective weapons against slow-moving aircraft, such as helicopters, passenger or cargo aircraft," writes the Federal Agency for Civic Education in the topic module Conventional Weapons.

MANPADS searches for target after shooting down itself

MANPADS, as a rule, consists of an anti-aircraft missile with a warhead, a launch tube and a battery that supplies the system with energy before deployment. After launch, the rocket uses an infrared seeker to search for its own target. Depending on the model, the range is up to eight kilometers. It can hit targets at an altitude of up to five kilometers.

Only a few countries produce MANPADS. Most notably, Russia, China and the United States manufacture the weapon and supply it to many countries. To defend against the Russian invaders, Ukrainian soldiers mainly use the Soviet or Russian model "Igla" as well as "Stinger" systems, which Ukraine received from the USA as part of military support. According to the latest figures from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia has lost 309 aircraft, 294 helicopters and 2,830 drones so far (as of May 22). (mt)