The criminal army of Russia managed to hit the helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the front line. It occurred for the second time in the last two months.
Russian army began to detect Ukrainian military helicopters near the front line
According to the publication, for the second time in the last 2 months, a group of Ukrainian helicopters landed near the front line for refueling and rearming and was detected by a drone of the Russian occupation army.
It is emphasised that within a few minutes, the Russian occupiers launched an Iskander missile and blew up at least 3 units of Ukrainian military equipment in the Pavlograd region of Donetsk region.
The publication notes that these are very heavy losses for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which do not have a large aircraft fleet.
Journalists note that a pair of Mi-24 helicopters and a Mi-17 attack helicopter were seriously damaged.
It is noted that the helicopters performed combat missions during the day on Saturday, May 11.
They landed at a forward armament and refueling point and were spotted by an enemy drone.
An advanced weapons and refueling point is located near the front line for the safe landing of helicopters and the ability to deliver fuel and ammunition to support troops.
The idea is for helicopter crews to quickly complete refueling and rearming and take off before the enemy can target.
It is noted that the Ukrainian military conducts daily refueling and rearming operations of attack helicopters that perform combat missions at low altitude along the front line.
Helicopters are engaged in delivering provisions and taking away the wounded, as well as attacking the positions of the occupation army of Russia with unguided missiles.
What is known about the problem with the use of a forward arming and refuelling point (FARP) by the Ukrainian military
During the first two years of the criminal war unleashed by Russia, such operations took place relatively safely.
Probably, the reason for this was the sufficient number of air defense equipment near the front line to protect the helicopters.
At the same time, the process of identifying targets and obtaining permission to carry out an attack in the occupation army of the Russian Federation was much slower.
However, the supply of ammunition for Ukrainian air defence systems was exhausted, and the Russian occupiers learned to quickly target and attack.
Russia is using new technology to improve communication between sensors and shooters, explains Blair Battersby, a British Army warrant officer.
It is noted that since the spring of this year, the drones of the Russian army began to penetrate deeper into the rear of the Ukrainian military, allowing the Russian occupiers to strike more vulnerable, strategically important objects.
The material emphasises that US Army General Claire Gill and Major Bridget Day warned about the emergence of such a problem 3 years ago.
It is emphasised that the US Army continues to practice the placement of large-scale advanced weapons and refueling points.
Just because it worked in the past doesn't necessarily mean it will work again. The concept of large FARPs has little chance of survival, Claire Gill and Bridget Day emphasise.
And they were right even in the case when such advanced points are even much smaller.
On or shortly before March 13, a Russian drone spotted a trio of Mi-8 or Mi-17 attack helicopters from the 12th Army Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Army rearming in a field in Novopavlivka.
It is noted that the Russian invaders destroyed 2 helicopters with an Iskander missile and killed at least two Ukrainian pilots.
A similar incident was repeated two months later in approximately the same area.
Journalists of the publication also note that since the beginning of the criminal war unleashed by Russia, the Ukrainian military has lost about 40 attack and attack helicopters.
Each helicopter lost can mean two or more crew members killed or injured, and experienced aviators are harder to replace than airships.
Losses at vulnerable FARPs could continue unless the Ukrainians speed up rearming and refueling procedures, add more air defences over FARPs, or switch to safer night operations — or some combination of all three — the authors of the material warn.
