Counter-drone defence from the air: helicopters gain importance against kamikaze drones

As the online magazine “The Warzone” reported on 16 January, a US Navy MH-60 Seahawk helicopter has shot down a drone for the first time. The counter-drone mission took place over the Red Sea; the drone had been launched by the Houthi militias in Yemen.

As early as March of the previous year, a French naval helicopter – an AS565 Panther from the frigate Alsace – shot down a Houthi drone over the Red Sea with its 7.62-millimetre machine gun. Ukraine, too, is using helicopters successfully against so-called “Slow Moovers” in its defensive war against Russia.

EUNAVFOR ASPIDES ???????? | Interception par l’hélicoptère de la frégate ???????? d’un drone aérien en provenance du Yémen menaçant le trafic maritime civil en mer Rouge.
➡️ La priorité: assurer la liberté de navigation et la sûreté maritime de Suez à Ormuz https://t.co/pJjwPK2c8b pic.twitter.com/KQ8DD17hRL

The latest video was released this week. It shows a former Afghan Mi-17 helicopter shooting down a long-range Geran-II (Shahed-136) kamikaze drone.

Shahed kamikaze drone chased and intercepted by Mi-17 of the Armed Forces of Ukraine which was transferred by the United States. The helicopters were previously designated for the Air Force of Afghanistan, the desert camouflage remains on the helicopter as a reminder of this. https://t.co/ZG4IK1CM5U pic.twitter.com/ACdfGfcf3g

Another Ukrainian video from the autumn shows the decisive role door gunners play in interceptions. The pilot flies the helicopter almost in formation alongside the drone while the door gunner fires specifically at its engine. A hit on the nose would be particularly dangerous, because that is where the warhead of around 30 kilograms sits – a detonation near the helicopter would be extremely risky.

The concept also clearly separates operating zones: helicopters operate ahead of the air defence zone, while ground-based air defence is positioned closer to the priority targets. Shoot-downs also always take place over uninhabited areas, so that the drone crashes on unpopulated territory.

Russian sources reported a total of 2,599 launches against targets in Ukraine for January 2025 – with Geran-II drones and with the Gerber and Parodie decoy drones. Their warheads now weigh up to 100 kilograms, and ranges extend from a few hundred to 2,000 kilometres. The main targets are area targets such as power stations, substations and other critical infrastructure.

Counter-drone defence in the Bundesheer: focus on “Slow Moovers”

In Austria, media coverage of airspace surveillance has traditionally focused on interceptor jets. Nevertheless, the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer) have never neglected slow and/or low-flying air targets.

Live-fire engagement of this target category was already trained back then, as a video from 2018 shows – that is, not only since kamikaze drone warfare emerged worldwide.

Part of this extensive experience comes from “Daedalus”, the annual airspace security operation protecting the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Against low and slow-flying targets, the Bundesheer can deploy above all the following aircraft:

• Pilatus PC-7 with pods for 12.7-millimetre machine guns
• Bell OH-58 with 7.62-millimetre rotary cannon
• Sikorsky S-70A42 Black Hawk with 7.62-millimetre machine guns
• in future also the Leonardo AW169 Lion with 7.62-millimetre machine guns and pods for 12.7-millimetre machine guns