Russian troops appear to have shot down one of its own Ka-52 attack helicopters involved in Russia’s wider war in Ukraine.
The Ukraine Weapons Tracker OSINT group reports that Russian air-defense troops shot down a Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter in the Zaporizhzhia region.
“A Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter (RF-91335, 43 Yellow, formerly 43 White) was reportedly shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S1 in a friendly fire incident in Zaporizhzhia Oblast,” the group said on Wednesday.
Russian media reports that the crew survived,
#Ukraine: A Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter (RF-91335, 43 Yellow, formerly 43 White) was reportedly shot down by a Russian Pantsir-S1 in a friendly fire incident in #Zaporizhzhia Oblast. pic.twitter.com/IWXeORBI0M
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) December 20, 2022
According to open-source intel tracker Oryx, Russia has lost at least 28 Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters since Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine began on Feb. 24.
Russia is visually confirmed to have lost over 25% of its total operational Ka-52 helicopter fleet, according to the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD).