Ukrainian helicopter crews intercept nightly Russian Shahed drones with air-burst fire

Ukraine has quietly rewritten the rules of air defense by turning helicopters into frontline drone hunters. By repurposing ageing Soviet rotorcraft to intercept Shahed drones at night, Ukrainian forces closed a critical gap that missiles and fighters alone could not cover. This adaptation directly targets Russia’s core strategy of exhausting Ukrainian defenses through cheap mass-produced UAVs. Instead of trading expensive interceptors for low-cost drones, Ukraine has inverted the cost equation with speed, improvisation, and relentless persistence. The result is not just higher interception rates, but a systemic degradation of Russia’s ability to terrorize cities through sustained drone campaigns. In an attritional war defined by innovation, Ukraine’s helicopter crews have transformed necessity into a decisive asymmetric advantage.

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