The battle between drones and helicopters in Ukraine

ON JULY 31ST pictures of a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter, crashed and burning, began circulating on social media. That in itself was not unusual: Ukrainian forces have shot down scores of helicopters since the Russian invasion began. Much more surprising was the claim in the Ukrainian press that this helicopter had been downed by a small drone. A video released by the country’s armed forces a few days later seemed to lend credence to that claim: the footage (see below) shows a drone hitting another Russian aircraft, this time an Mi-28 attack helicopter, reportedly forcing it to make an emergency landing. Were these lucky hits—or signs of a breakthrough in aerial warfare?