HISTORY
Ukrainian Sea Kings
On November 23 the British Secretary of
Defense Ben Wallace announced that he
was sending three Sea King helicopters
to the Ukraine. At the time of the announcement the first one already reached its
destination. From the beginning the British
informed that these aircraft are in SAR
version (Search and Rescue). It did not
stop various speculations about possible
anti-submarine or early warning versions. Even though it is a non-combat, older version the impact is large. Sea King is
the very first western-made type Ukraine
aquired since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. The
most important information is that already
six weeks before the announcement ten
Ukrainian crews and ground personnel
had been undergoing the training on this
type in Britain. It shows that the western
countries keep the information secret until
the deal is completed. If the West decides
to donate to Ukraine other (for example
combat ready) helicopter or airplanes, or
the modern aviation ammunition we will
learn about it only after the Ukrainian aviators training will be finished and the aircraft deployed at the frontline.
Czech drones from Luxembourg
Our Czech readers will be interested to
learn about the Luxembourg military aid
to Ukraine. This tiny country (population
of 650,000) donated 28 Humvee utility vehicles, 20 12.7 mm caliber machine guns,
50 satellite communication terminals and
470 night vision goggles. Luxembourg
also acquired for Ukraine 400 122 mm caliber rockets for the Grad launchers. The
most important delivery however was six
Primoco One 150 reconnaissance drones manufactured by a Czech company.
These aircraft are 3.65 m long, have 4.85
m wingspan, their range is 200 km and
endurance up to 15 hours. Their airspeed
is 150 kph, maximum weight 150 kilos and
their standard equipment is the movable
camera but according to the customer’s
specifications they can be equipped with
other sensors.
Photo: ZSU
Norton airbase. They were offloaded at
a non-specified location and a C-17 returned immediately. The Ukrainian will
launch Brimstome 2 rockets from the
ground as well i.e., sacrificing the range
with higher accuracy though in comparison to the earlier version.
Small losses
Despite several reports by both sides
about the shot down aircraft during this
reporting period only one loss of a piloted vehicle was confirmed. It could be also
related to the combat operations slowed
down by muddy terrain. That confirmed
loss was an Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter
from 456th Transportation Brigade which
was on November 11 hit by a portable missile during its mission in Donetsk area.
The entire crew, Col. Serhyi Khomik, Maj.
Viktor Penkovyi and MSgt. Vitalyi Golda.
He acted as a hero when he retrieved Col.
Khomik from the burning wreck. Sadly he
could not be helped and Golda suffered the
injuries to which is succumbed on November 16. In addition to this confirmed loss
during November 1 through December 1,
another wrecks of two Ukrainian helicopters were found (Mi-24P and Mi-8MTS)
which had crashed during the earlier,
Wreck of the Su-34 marked “red 22” and carrying the
registration RF-095005 found near Kupyansk.
non-specified period. On the Russian side
a Ka-52 wreck, until now not registered as
destroyed, was found near Kherson. Su-34
“red 22” registered as RF-95005 was found
near Kupyansk. Most likely it is an aircraft
shot down in this area on September 24.
Tragedy in Poland
On Tuesday November 15 in the afternoon
a tragic event took place. A rocket landed
on the Polish territory and killed two people in Przewodow, Lublin County, barely
10 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
The rocket explosion created a large crater and knocked over a tractor with trailer. The investigation confirmed it was
a rocket from the S-300 system belonging to the Ukrainian
AA defense. It had
been launched during a Russian attack
against the missile headed towards
the Ukrainian power
station. The rocket
however missed the
target and the self-destructing system
for such situation
failed as well. It only
exploded after hitting
the ground and two
Polish civilians lost
their lives.
Photo: Twitter
The tragic results of the
Ukrainian S-300 missile
impact in Polish Przewodow. Two people lost their
lives.
January 2023
INFO Eduard
23