Emerged on Sept. 15, new footage allegedly shows a helicopter being shot down over Nubbol (a small town in northern Aleppo province) Jun. 30, 2013 by rebels using an FN-6 MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense System).
Developed in China, the FN-6 is a third generation passive IR (Infrared) surface-to-air missile with a range of 6 km and a maximum altitude of 3.5 km.
Several MANPADS are in the hands of the Free Syrian Army that is using them to shoot down Assad’s planes and helicopters.
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.
Syrian rebels anti-aircraft fire has become increasingly effective against Assad regime helicopter gunships. Taken on Oct. 5, the following video shows another Mil Mi-8 Hip being hit by artillery fire during a medium altitude sortie […]
