Ukraine Kills Russia’s $19M Mi-28 Helicopter With $400 FPV Drone

Ukraine destroyed a Russian Mi-28 helicopter worth $19 million with a $400 first-person view (FPV) drone made by drone maker SkyFall, according to the company.

RBC-Ukraine, citing a press release from SkyFall, said the attack took place near the village of Vyazove in Russia’s Belgorod region, with the 427th Separate Brigade “Rarog” under Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) operating the drone.

Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of the USF, confirmed the attack took place on Wednesday morning and shared FPV footage of the interception.

In it, the drone could be seen flying level with the helicopter before flying up and striking it from above.

The company said its Shrike 10 FPV drone was used, which costs $400 per unit, whereas the Mi-28 costs $19 million; Defense Watch estimated that the Mi-28 costs around $15 million per unit.

The Mi-28 (NATO reporting name: Havoc) is an attack helicopter developed in the 1980s that entered service in the 2000s. It is armed with a 30 mm chin-mounted cannon and a range of missiles and rockets primarily used against ground targets.

According to Oryx, which tracks visually confirmed equipment losses, at least 20 Mi-28s have been destroyed or damaged since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, though the true figure is likely higher due to unverified losses.

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A similar Ukrainian strike took place in September 2025, when a Ukrainian drone struck a Mi-28 helicopter in a similar fashion, with Brovdi attributing it to the USF’s 59th Brigade.

RBC-Ukraine said the Shrike 10 – the same model used in Wednesday’s attack – was also used in September’s strike.

SkyFall is one of the better-known Ukrainian drone makers, whose products also include the bomber drones known as the “Baba-yaga” and interceptor drones called “P1-SUN” – the latter a Ukrainian wordplay on the male reproductive organ.

Earlier on Monday, Reuters reported that Germany is financing 50,000 FPV drones for Ukraine, manufactured by SkyFall and equipped with autonomous targeting software from US firm Auterion, in a deal worth €90 million ($103 million).

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine is producing 10 million drones a year and is eyeing a production target of 20 million drones with foreign support.