Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces shared dramatic footage on 29 September showing a $500 FPV drone striking and destroying a Russian Mi-8 helicopter worth $10 million. The reports did not specify the location or frontline sector where the operation took place.

Ukrainian FPV drone destroys Russian Mi-8 helicopter

According to commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, the strike took place in the morning of 29 September. Initially, he posted a video claiming an FPV drone from the 1st Battalion of the Khyzhaky Vysot (“High-Altitude Predators”) of the 59th Separate Assault Brigade had destroyed a Mi-28 helicopter. Later, he corrected the identification to Mi-8.

The aerial footage from another drone suggests that several drones were in the air during the attack. Also, a Russian Ka-52 helicopter can be seen flying past the Mi-8.

Brovdi also shared a second extended video showing the drone’s first-person view of the strike, the crash, and the burning wreckage on the ground. In that footage, a Russian soldier can be seen in the helicopter’s open door moments before impact.

Russian military Telegram channels also confirmed the loss, claiming that the Russian pilots were allegedly evacuated after the crash. It is unclear if the crew and other soldiers in the Mi-8 could have survived the crash.

Ukrainian unit highlights the cost disparity

The High-Altitude Predators unit called the Mi-8 a new “fat target” in their collection. They wrote that their Baltika crew destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter worth more than $10 million with a small FPV drone costing only $500. They credited the result to coordinated work between reconnaissance, command, and pilots, as well as support from those backing the unit.