MILAN \u2014 Air defense and drone warfare observed in Ukraine are changing the nature of military helicopter tactics, moving the platforms\u2019 center of gravity away from the tip of the spear to an emphasis on combat-support missions along the front lines, according to officials and issue experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The shift is animated in large part by proliferating ground-based air defenses that make manned flight over the battlefield almost impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 2024, helicopters at the front, due to the threat and saturation of anti-aircraft means, primarily perform fire support along the line of combat engagement, using the toss bombing tactics [unaimed strikes by unguided missiles] and have also been a means of countering unmanned systems,\u201d said Serhii Kuzan, a former adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled the Russian emphasis on helicopters during the first days of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion. Moscow\u2019s troops had planned a large-scale landing operation, which eventually failed, at the Antonov airport near Hostomel, only 25 kilometers from Kyiv.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vulnerability of combat helicopters has translated into a high number of losses on the Russian side. In February, a report published by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies found that the Russian Aerospace Forces had lost 40% of their pre-war Ka-52 Hokum-B attack helicopter fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRussian rotary losses have continued, but changes in tactics and the introduction of new weapons, in particular the LMUR (also known as the Kh-39) air-to-surface missile, which provides a greater stand-off range, have had an effect,\u201d Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at IISS told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maj. Gen. Pierre Meyer, commander of the French Army Light Aviation (ALAT), said Russia\u2019s helicopter-based landing attempt should be a cautionary tale for military planners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt Hostomel, we saw Russian helicopters intervening almost on parade for two days, at a certain height and arriving en masse, tightly packed \u2013 in the end, it\u2019s not a question of whether helicopters still have their place, it\u2019s how we use them,\u201d Meyer told the audience at the Paris Air Forum last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHad we acted like the Russian helicopters, with the mode of action I\u2019m talking about, we would\u2019ve had exactly the same losses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meyer said there is utility in teaming helicopters with drones, as many Western armed forces are already doing, with unmanned aerial vehicles providing additional \u201caero-combat action and maneuver\u201d to military choppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Kuzan, the former Ukrainian defense adviser, helicopters could soon become integrated with unmanned forces, \u201cusing their command control points, powerful communication relays or as a mobile means of radio-electronic warfare and intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bruno Even, the CEO of Airbus Helicopters, said rotary aviation can still play its trump card of all-around utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDepending on the conflict, the attack helicopter has its rightful place and role to play \u2013 their use may have to evolve towards stand-off weapons that allow the aircraft to intervene from a greater distance,\u201d he said at the Paris Air Forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The shift is animated in large part by proliferating ground-based air defenses that make manned flight over the battlefield almost impossible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":118833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[13,16,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3363],"class_list":["post-84029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PYAOUDRBQZHWLGJLFMN4D4JTKE","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2024\/07\/19\/drone-warfare-in-ukraine-prompts-fresh-thinking-in-helicopter-tactics\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n