End of the Helicopter? (no) - MANPADS and helicopter losses in Ukraine

Anyone who has watched a Hollywood film knows that helicopters on the big screen seem destined to do only one thing, crash. In Ukraine, that has proven to be the final fate for dozens of helicopters, including some of the world's most modern types.

For these incredibly capable machines, the Ukraine War has been a challenging environment. After a flurry of aggressive use in the opening days (culminating in the assault on Hostomel Airport) the mass introduction of man portable air defence systems and a rush of early casualties seems to have forced both the Russian and Ukrainian attack helicopters into a much more conservative posture.

This raises the question - if a $200,000 missile can shoot down a helicopter worth tens of millions of dollars, what does that mean for the future of the helicopter on the battlefield (and the procurement budget)

In this video I take a look at the rotary aviation side of the Ukrainian war (with a particular look at the Russian KA-52), try to piece together how the tactics have changed, try and explain some of the weirder things we've been seeing, and examine what the losses and challenges mean for the future of these aircraft.

Patreon:
  / perunau  

Sources:
Visually confirmed loss database:
https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02... (I then went through each of the helicopter listings)

Russian tactics:
https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pu...

Reimbursable Rates for Airframes (FY2019)
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Porta...

Timestamps:
00:00:00 -- Opening words
00:01:20 -- Not a great war for attack helos
00:02:19 -- How to get this topic wrong
00:03:36 -- What am I covering?
00:04:38 -- Caveats & Preface
00:07:26 -- First days at Hostomel
00:10:36 -- The MANPADS surge
00:12:36 -- Deterioration: March & April
00:15:28 -- Deterioration: May - present
00:18:50 -- KA-52 Losses
00:20:54 -- Strange tactics
00:23:12 -- Pilots/command error?
00:26:03 -- The rocket slinging
00:29:09 -- Chornobaivka
00:32:39 -- "Doctrine" doesn't mean "good"
00:34:05 – Nothing new, helicopters get shot down a lot
00:36:16 -- Novel weapons aren’t novel
00:38:30 -- Evolving enemies
00:42:42 -- A cost problem
00:46:24 -- Survival: Efficiency MANPADS
00:48:35 -- Survival Efficiency: Other threats
00:50:24 -- Offensive efficiency
00:54:05 -- Helicopters are vulnerable
00:58:35 -- Stand-off and survive
01:01:18 -- Tactics and training
01:03:27 -- Consider the mission

01:08:00 -- Conclusion

01:10:50 -- Channel update