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Ukraine Hunts Down Second Russian Mi-28NM Attack Helicopter in One Week With Interceptor Drone
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukrainian forces have targeted a second Russian Mi-28NM attack helicopter in less than a week, using a domestically developed interceptor drone to pursue the aircraft over Russia’s Belgorod region. The latest strike follows a similar attack on the same helicopter model just days earlier.
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Ukraine’s 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade announced the operation on October 16, releasing footage showing operators from its air defense unit, known as “Aliens,” pursuing the Russian helicopter.
Since the beginning of October, Ukrainian forces from the 115th Mechanized Brigade have hit multiple Russian Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopters using FPV drones over Belgorod Oblast. pic.twitter.com/bPge9ufysO
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) October 17, 2026
The Ukrainian troops deployed a VB140 Flamingo fixed-wing interceptor drone manufactured by the Ukrainian company Vinnytsia Bees.
Video released by the brigade shows the drone closing in on the Mi-28NM from behind, apparently aiming for the helicopter’s engine compartment. The footage cuts off just before a possible collision with the rotor blades, leaving the extent of any damage unconfirmed.
Open-source intelligence researcher Bendik geolocated the attack near Yasnozorenskoye in Russia’s Belgorod region, approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the front line.
The location is roughly four kilometers (2.5 miles) north of the site of an earlier Ukrainian drone attack against another Russian Mi-28NM helicopter. On October 14, the same brigade reported striking a Mi-28NM using an FPV drone, marking the first of two reported engagements against Russian attack helicopters within a single week.
The Mi-28NM is one of Russia’s modernized attack helicopters, designed to engage armored vehicles, fortified positions, and other ground targets in both daytime and nighttime operations.
It is equipped with an N025 mast-mounted radar, advanced targeting systems, a 30mm 2A42 cannon, and guided missiles, including the LMUR, also known as the Izdeliye 305.
Russian forces have also employed Mi-28NM helicopters to intercept Ukrainian long-range drones and reportedly adapted the aircraft to launch smaller cruise missiles, including the S8000 Banderol and Dan-T.
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