Russian helicopters riddled with holes. ATACMS turned them into wrecks
1:49 PM EDT, October 21, 2023
A photo recently appeared on social media demonstrating how cassette ammunition in ATACMS missiles damaged Russian attack helicopters. The destruction clearly shows the significance of this weapon on the Ukrainian battlefield.
On October 17, we reported about a mysterious attack of Ukrainian forces on Russian airports in the vicinity of the occupied Lugansk and Berdyansk. The Russian Federation was then convinced that the action was carried out using ATACMS missiles, which Ukraine was not yet supposed to possess. Shortly after the attack, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the ATACMS missiles provided by the US had indeed been deployed in the defending country. Of course, Vladimir Putin himself expressed outrage at this fact.
As many holes as in Swiss cheese
Images of the fuselage of the Ka-52 attack helicopter (better known as the famous Alligator), shown on social media, have proven that estimating Russian losses based on satellite images from airfields doesn't make much sense. Though the helicopter is riddled with holes, like Swiss cheese, it doesn't show any other damage, but it's certainly not fit for use.
Satellite images of the air base near Luhansk allowed us to determine that as a result of the attacks, five enemy helicopters were destroyed. However, photos taken from space can't see the small but crucial damage that the remaining vehicles have suffered. If the shrapnel didn't manage to ignite the fuel system or detonate the ammunition inside the vehicle, then from an orbit perspective, declaring that the helicopter is damaged is practically impossible.
In a cockpit area measuring just about 4.9 feet by 4.9 feet, the Russians found around 100 fragments of an ATACMS missile, which caused serious damage in both the electronics and the helicopter's fuel and propulsion systems. Undoubtedly, many machines will have to be sent back to factories for replacement of damaged parts, which may even knock these helicopters out of active combat operations for many months.
Photos appearing on social media point to significant penetration of the interior of the Ka-52 helicopter, which according to the assurances of the Russian Federation was supposed to be armored. However, even the crews themselves report problems with the machine's armor, which is sometimes penetrated even by small arms fire.
