Ukraine Launched HIMARS Attack On Russian Helicopters In Belgorod – The War Zone

Ukrainian special operations forces (SSO) say they destroyed two Ka-52 Hokum attack helicopters and two Mi-8 Hip transport helicopters in an attack behind the lines in Russia’s Belgorod region. The helicopters were struck, according to SSO, by M130A2 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Alternative Warheads (GMLRS-AW), each containing a 200-pound warhead with 180,000 tungsten fragments. 

SSO spotted the helicopters at a forward arming and refueling point that was used “for rapid movement of aircraft or for surprise attacks on the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine,” the SSO claimed. That’s when they called in the strike using the GMLRS-AW guided rockets.

“The enemy once again thought that deep in the rear he was unattainable,” SSO claimed. “We once again proved that for the SSO there is nothing unattainable.”

A video released by SSO shows the four helicopters and the explosions on the ground from the guided rockets. While one frame shows what appears to be a direct hit, the large number of fragments the warheads contain would likely shred a helicopter even if landing in close proximity to the target.

GMLRS are ground-to-ground guided munitions fired by U.S.-made Army High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARS) and M270 MLRS. Ukraine has used them to devasting effect on Russian troop and equipment concentrations, hardened defensive locations, bridges, radars and other targets. The U.S. provided two GMLRS variants to Ukraine. The GMLRS Alternative Warhead (AW) was developed as a cluster munition alternative to engage area or imprecisely located targets. GMLRS Unitary Warhead utilizes a 200-pound high-explosive warhead to engage point targets with limited collateral damage. Both have a range of about 50 miles.

The destruction of these helicopters marks the biggest known single loss of Russian rotary wing aviation in a ground strike since October 2023. That’s when Ukraine used its U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles for the first time, striking an airport in the Russian-occupied city of Berdyansk.

The Hokums have presented a formidable anti-armor threat to Ukraine, playing an important role in stopping its failed counteroffensive in the summer of 2023 and again in the Kursk region. Screencaps taken from a video of Ka-52 attacks on Ukrainian armor are visible below.

However, the Ka-52s have been a prime target of Ukrainian air defenses, long-range missile and drone strikes, and sabotage raids. Of the 120 Russia had before the full-on war, at least 51 have been destroyed, 12 damaged and one captured, according to the Oryx open-source tracking group. That figure could be higher because Oryx only tabulates losses for which it has visual confirmation. You can see one of those sabotage attacks in the following video.

The Mi-8s have also been frequently targeted by Ukraine. Of the roughly 300 that Russia had, at least 29 were destroyed and 10 damaged, Oryx noted. There was even one notable case of a Russian pilot defecting to Ukraine with his Hip, which you can read more about here.

While the SSO did not give a specific location of where the helicopters were struck, the attack came amid conflicting reports on the status of a Ukrainian ground incursion into Belgorod that began on March 18.

The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) said its forces were attacking Ukrainian troops in that region.

“In the Belgorod direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of four mechanized brigades, an assault regiment of the [Ukrainian Armed Forces], and three territorial defense brigades close to Miropolye, Ugroyedy, Turya, and Krasnopolye (in the Sumy region),” the MoD claimed on Telegram.

The border villages of Demidovka, Krasnoyarsk district are “temporarily occupied by Ukraine,” according to the Russian Romanov Light Telegram channel.

Meanwhile, another Russian Telegram channel offered a different take.

“The village of Demidovka is under the control of the Russian Armed Forces!,” the Ashes Telegram channel claimed. “Ukrainian military failed to enter the territory of Belgorod Oblast. The Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to break through to our territory, but were thrown back to Sumy Oblast.”

The latest update from the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff makes no mention of an operation in Belgorod. However, a retired high-ranking Ukrainian officer told The War Zone that his nation’s troops have penetrated as far as 12 kilometers (about 7.5 miles) into Belgorod at some locations. The Belgorod incursion has similar goals to one Ukraine launched in Russia’s Kursk region last August, namely creating buffer space along the border and drawing Russian troops away from eastern Ukraine, the retired officer explained.

Hitting attack and transport helicopters on the ground is the best way to defend against the capabilities they bring to bear.

The attack “reduces the Russian operational tempo based on reduced ability in close air support, logistics support and medevac,” said the retired Ukrainian officer. “It also reduces the level of troop reinforcement in a contingency situation.”

Though Ukraine developed the intelligence about the location of the Russian helicopters on its own, it should be noted that the use of the GMLRS-AW in this instance came after Ukraine had to curtail the employment of these munitions and other variants earlier this month when the U.S. temporarily stopped providing intelligence data for accurate strikes. The U.S. resumed that flow of data after Ukraine agreed in principle to a 30-day ceasefire last week.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com