British-made portable Starstreak missile ‘shoots down Russian helicopter’ in Ukraine
British-made portable Starstreak missile ‘shoots down Russian helicopter in its first use in Ukrainian battlefield’
A British-made anti-aircraft missile reportedly shot down a Russian helicopter It is the first time the Starstreak missile has been used in the war in Ukraine Starstreaks are missiles that travels at more than three times the speed of sound Footage showed a Russian Mi-28N helicopter shot out of the sky in Luhansk
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A British-made anti-aircraft missile reportedly shot down a Russian helicopter in the weapon’s first use in Ukraine.
The Starstreak system is a laser-guided missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets and attack helicopters.
Footage which reportedly shows the moment the Russian Mi-28N helicopter was shot out of the sky in the Luhansk region captures the aircraft being cut in two as its tail is struck by a missile.
A British-made anti-aircraft missile reportedly shot down a Russian helicopter in the weapon’s first use in Ukraine
The Starstreak system is a laser-guided missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets and attack helicopters
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace previously said the Starstreak system – a shoulder-mounted missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets – was ready to be used imminently.
Mr Wallace said the first Ukrainian troops had been trained and were now deployed with Starstreak, adding that the UK was ‘doing more than pretty much anyone else’ to help the war-torn country.
‘One of the biggest challenges is that the more you go up in sophistication of weapons systems, the more training you require to use them, which is why the real focus of effort has to be helping the Ukrainians either refurbish or locate Russian or Soviet equipment that is already in their inventory,’ he told the Mail on Sunday. ‘Just providing British tanks wouldn’t really work.’
The video released on Friday shows the Starstreak missile in action during its first week of use in the war, a source at the Ministry of Defence told the Times.
The missile is made in Belfast by short range missiles company Thales.
It can be shot from a shoulder or stand and has a range of more than four miles.
The missile detaches into three darts mid-air, which are guided to the target by a laser operator on the ground.
The use of lasers rather than being attracted to infrared energy means flares cannot counteract the three-pronged missile.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace previously said the Starstreak system – a shoulder-mounted missile that travels at more than three times the speed of sound to take down low-flying enemy jets – was ready to be used imminently
Britain has already sent thousands of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, although Nato nations have continued to rebuff pleas from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky for tanks and fighter aircraft.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace last night told Sky News: ‘There will be more lethal aid going into Ukraine as a result of today.
‘Ukraine needs longer-range artillery and that’s because of what the Russian army has been doing, which is now digging in and starting to pound these cities with artillery.
‘The best counter to that is other long-range artillery, so [Ukraine will] be looking for and getting more long-range artillery, ammunition predominantly.
‘They are also looking for armoured vehicles of some types — not tanks necessarily, but certainly protective vehicles, and more anti-air [weapons]. All of this will be forthcoming as a result of this conference.’
