Impressive footage: Syrian gunship helicopter hit by the rebel fire, spins and then explodes mid-air

October 17, 2012 Syria
David Cenciotti

Brought to my attention by a reader, the following video shows a Syrian Mil Mi-8/17 Hip gunship helicopter spinning towards the ground after being hit at medium/high altitude on a mission near Idlib on Oct. 17.

The chopper leaves a trail of white smoke before exploding mid-air.

SA-7 MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense Systems) have been reported in use by the Free Syrian Army and the one filmed near Idlib could have been hit by one of those shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).

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About David Cenciotti
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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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1 Comment

  1. If this one is authentic – & it looks a lot realer than most of their stuff – this is not good news.

    Hundreds of these things went walkabouts from warehouses in Libya, seized by the islamist militias. Most would have to be restored, as apparently the batteries fade out after a while, but it looks like Qatar has stepped up to the plate.

    There has already been an attempt on an Israeli helicopter which missed, & their first few attempts at Syrian choppers reportedly missed.

    Looks like they’re getting better at it.

    http://the-trigger.tumblr.com/
    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/for-first-time-palestinians-in-gaza-fire-missile-at-iaf-helicopter.premium-1.470387

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