Ukraine just managed to destroy nine helicopters in a single attack. Though initial sources suggested special forces were responsible, it now appears that the newly supplied ATACMS missile was used.
Ukrainian overnight strikes on Russian military airfields in occupied Luhansk and Berdiansk destroyed nine helicopters, an air defense system, and an ammunition warehouse, the Special Operations Forces reported on Oct. 17.
The attacks also hit the airfields’ runways and “special equipment” stored at the premises, the Ukrainian military said, without elaborating on the nature of this equipment.
Dozens of Russian personnel were killed and wounded as a result of the operation, according to the report. “Bodies are still being pulled from the rubble.”
The Special Operations Forces is a branch of Ukraine’s Armed Forces that conducts reconnaissance missions and covert operations behind enemy lines.
Here’s a video of the aftermath:
A bit more from Kanal, where it states ATACMS was responsible
Suchomimus has a more detailed video:
And here’s the update on that one, when he confirms the use of ATACMS:
There are lots of Mi-8s around, but Russian doesn’t have that many Ka-52 or Ka-29s (reportedly only 15 of the later) to lose them to enemy action like this.
One reason Russian was formerly considered the second most powerful military in the world was their vast store of Soviet-era MilTech. Vlad’s Big Adventure has pissed vast portions of that stockpile away, and the chip-heavy electronics necessary to run things like military aviation isn’t something Russia has the infrastructure to effectively replenish them anytime soon.
Tags: ATACMS, Berdiansk, helicopters, Military, Russia, Russo-Ukrainian War, Suchomimus, Ukraine, video
FAFO.
There are pictures floating around of a pair of clearly-labeled ATACMS propulsion sections laying in a field. They do not, at first glance, appear to have been faked. One of them has a manufacturing date of 10/96.
I suspect that this was cheaper than decommissioning and disposing of them would have been.
Should have been done a year ago.
Re: Big D —
Yeah, I’ve heard that much of the ‘splody stuff we’ve sent the Ukes was reaching the end of their shelf-life. More efficient to kill Russians with them than go through EOD procedures. More environmentally friendly to do it in Eastern Europe than here in the U.S.
As usual, Kirk nails it in one,
From the delay with things like this, I have come to believe that the Biden Krime Krewe is absolutely not on Ukraine’s side. I’d lay you good money that they’re being blackmailed into their half-ass and half-hearted “support” by threats of revelation about exactly what the Bidens and their fellow flying monkey minions were up to in Ukraine.
The guy who owned and operated Burisma? Russian oligarch, point man for Putin retaking Ukraine. His being stripped of Ukrainian assets was probably at least one of the precipitating causes of the war.
There is so much of this situation that we just don’t know about… I’ll lay you long odds that Zelensky was supposed to play his part by fleeing Kyiv, and he surprised everyone by saying “No. Ya know what? I’m gonna stay and fight; either you lot give what I need, or this whole detailed dossier we’ve collected on your activities is going out into the international media…”
Not a lot else fits the known evidence. There was that plan for divvying up Ukraine’s resources and industries that was released, which appears genuine. The Russians are just really, really stupid and inept… Blowing up Azovsteel? WTF? Destroying Mariupol? What the hell was the point of that, in terms of economic gain?
As well, there’s all the US “help” that they gave before the shooting started, which left the Ukrainians certain that no invasion would happen, and set them up to be caught flat-footed. That led directly to Russian success in the south. I have my doubts about all of this, and I remain of a mind that the Biden Krime Krewe was actually working with Russia to annex Ukraine and take over everything. I’m sure that the Bidens would have gotten their cut…
This attack may not have been as precise and destructive as the Ukrainians have claimed.
The US provided Ukraine with the old, original version of the ATACMS missile (M-39) with only inertial navigation, without GPS. Those primitive Russian barbarians have been successfully jamming most GPS guidance systems.
The CEP of inertial navigation systems over the 160 km likely flight distance of these ATACMS missiles is probably 50 meters or more – maybe much more.
Kirk: I’ve seen some claims (particularly from Trent Telenko) that there are competing factions within the Administration, with the National Security Administrator leading a strong appeasement faction even as other factions promote swifter and greater support for Ukraine. I have no insight into these claims, other than that they do make a certain amount of sense given the weird, almost contradictory decisions the Administration has made during the war.
10×25: Yes, the spent boosters were labeled as belonging to M39s. That’s the original, INS-only model. However, GPS is not strictly required, as the warhead consists of 950 bomblets capable of slicing through thin-skinned vehicles (which helos and planes definitely count as). Missing by 50 meters would be essentially irrelevant, and the results are an excellent example of why submunitions should be brought back into active service.
@Big D,
There’s something hinky with the whole Ukraine situation. Hillary and Biden were playing games in Ukraine with regards to the various Russian oligarchs that were grabbing for power. Burisma was basically a Russian front, from what I’ve seen. Soooo… That being the case, why the hell did the Biden administration suddenly turn on a dime, and start backing Zelensky and his Ukrainian faction?
The only thing that makes sense to me was that the Ukrainians mobilized the information they had that they tried to get to Trump back in 2018. The State Department refused visas to their envoys; that much was open-source. I never saw if anyone in the Trump admin noticed that or even tried fighting it. It was an odd thing; never saw any follow-up on it.
There’s something going on here that doesn’t add up with the publicly-held positions and known track records of these people. I’d have expected Biden and his flying monkeys to expedite Ukraine’s takeover, and when they offered Zelensky a free flight anywhere, which he then refused? Yeah; something happened there. What, I have no idea, but Zelensky went way, way off script, and then managed to parlay that into some serious money being spent on Ukraine’s resistance efforts.
Have no idea what is really going on, but there’s enough out there in the open to really raise some serious questions for me.
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10x25mm says:
October 18, 2023 at 2:38 PM
This attack may not have been as precise and destructive as the Ukrainians have claimed
10, you have excellent taste in calibers, but you’re really trying too hard.