Gunship squadron’s grim game of survival in Cold War relics
Crews take on Putin’s jets in helicopters that may kill them before the enemy does, Maxim Tucker reports.
One by one, the helicopter gunships lifted into the air, hovering for a moment before accelerating away, snow falling from their fuselages as they headed east to support Ukrainian troops in the besieged city of Avdiivka.
Their commander watched his pilots with a mix of pride and anxiety, hoping all would make it back alive.
“It is very difficult to say those words ... that he died performing a combat mission, that he was faithful to his oath and to the people of Ukraine ... but unfortunately, we lost him,” says Colonel Dmytro Kulkevych of the 12th Army Aviation Brigade.
“The most painful moment is when a wife asks me, ‘Why mine, why mine?’. And I only have one word: ‘War’.”
Kulkevych, 46, commands more than a thousand men, but fewer than 200 of them are pilots. It is a close-knit community that has trained, flown, and celebrated together for many years. More recently, though, they have been consoling one another.
His brigade flies Mi-8 “Hips”, fitted with rocket pods, as gunships, and faster, armoured Mi-24 “Hind” attack helicopters. Their targets: Russian platoon and company strongholds.
Built in the 1960s and 1970s respectively, the inside of their cockpits is a vast array of dials, buttons and levers, entirely analogue, entirely dependent on the pilots. Even systems warning of a radar lock can only glow, providing no clue as to whether the radar is friend or foe, or where the lock is coming from, unlike Nato systems.
Yet somehow, this squadron of museum pieces has survived nearly two years of war, flying missions under the noses of Vladimir Putin’s most advanced fighter aircraft. They fly up to three sorties a day, striking at advancing mechanised Russian troops in support of ground forces.
The reward for their perseverance, they had hoped, would be the supply of American Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, already being retired by the United States Marine Corps. Negotiations have been under way for months to provide between 16 and 24 of the aircraft, Kulkevych says, but are now being held up by political infighting in the US Congress.
“We requested them three months ago. The Viper is an inexpensive combat platform that would allow us to support our ground forces hundreds of times better than we do now,” he says. “We can fly further and stay in the air longer. We can also master it faster, because the main thing is the time for retraining.
“We're not asking for Apaches, because the more complex the aircraft systems are, the more time is needed for retraining, and time is something we don’t have.”
Until the Vipers arrive, the brigade has to make do with malfunctioning Soviet-era aircraft, rigged to fire a hodgepodge of Soviet and Western weapons, often with mixed and sometimes dangerous results.
The delay in aid also means the pilots are running low on ammunition. Some aircraft fly with pods half loaded, while others sit useless on the tarmac, waiting for the next batch to arrive.
Lack of rockets, or faulty equipment, too often forces the brigade to turn down missions, the commander adds. Advancing infantry is no longer a justifiable target unless accompanied by armoured vehicles or artillery.
To make matters worse, their pilots have had to learn to fly without fighter cover, as Ukraine is still waiting for its promised F-16 jets.
“We have no fighter jet support – we perform our missions on our own,” says Kulkevych. “When we talk to military representatives of Western countries, they say it is impossible.
“But we have now learned to counter and not be touched by Russian fighters such as SU-30 and SU-35s. They are hunting us and they can’t get us.”
The brigade's tactics rely on the skill and endurance of their pilots, flying at 240kph just 45m off the ground, with none of the safety features of modern aircraft to prevent a crash. The helicopters fly in a series of “hops” to their target. If they are targeted in the air, they “hit the brakes” in a highspeed manoeuvre that should send the missiles sailing past.
Lieutenant Colonel Hryhorii Sytnyk, 43, the brigade’s deputy commander, adds: “In the first year of the war, the Russians flew like they were on parade, but now they work in pairs – one far away, high in the sky to scan a great distance for radar, and relaying our co-ordinates to a second one low to the ground, much closer, to hit us by stealth.”
The Russians have upgraded their air-toair missiles to give them longer range, and are now constantly developing their systems and tactics, he says.
“They have modified their R-37 missile. Before, it didn’t see helicopters - now, if you're over 150 feet (45m), they lock on to you and shoot you down.”
On the ground, too, the crews are not safe. The air base was hit with Shahed drones three days before The Times visited, and our interview is interrupted by the controlled explosion of one that failed to go off.
Russia and Ukraine are making greater use of suicide drones, but Kulkevych believes there is a future for pilots.
“It is a modern, open-field war, where everything is evolving. Now the drones have the upper hand – they are cheaper, and US$1000 (NZ$1610) ammunition destroys a tank that costs around US$10 million (NZ$16m),” he says.
“But this is only until counter-electronic warfare is developed to match those systems. We will see the effective use of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] for the next two to three months. Then we will see what happens when every military man has his own portable electronic warfare system against those UAVs.”
In the long run, the commander believes the fortitude of those fighting for their homeland will win out, as long as they have Western support.
“We are grateful to our Western allies, and we want to be part of that European family, the North Atlantic alliance. And we are ready to defend it,” he says.
“We now have completely different soldiers from all those who studied and graduated in peacetime, did their military service, took part in international military exercises and peacekeeping operations.
“War prepares us in a completely different way. Some break down, some improve. Ours work like a reliable machine, perform their tasks, do not whine or cry, and are working for our joint victory.”
“Time is something we don’t have ... We have no fighter jet support – we perform our missions on our own.”
Colonel Dmytro Kulkevych, 12th Army Aviation Brigade