Even if it’s not clear whether the targeted Mi-8/17 Hip chopper was able to survive the hit (in the last year some Syrian helicopters have proved their ability to withstand ground fire by Surface to Air Missiles), the following video shows how lethal some shoulder mounted surface to air missile systems can be.
While the chopper flies at medium altitude, the rebel can target it with an SA-16 and wait the right moment to fire.
David Cenciotti is a freelance 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 four books.
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