Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter destroyed by Ukrainian anti-tank missile

In unconfirmed footage that emerged on social media on April 5, 2022, Ukrainian soldiers can be seen using a Stugna-P anti-tank guided-missile weapon system to hit and destroy a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter as it was hovering above a forest. 

The soldiers responsible for this unusual engagement belonged to the 95th Air Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, according to the open-source intelligence project Ukraine Weapons Tracker which shared the video. 

The Stugna-P, a domestic variant of the Skif system designed for export, is an anti-tank guided-missile system developed by the Ukrainian manufacturer Luch Design Bureau. It is conceived to destroy stationary and moving ground armored targets. It offers two types of firing modes: manual, and fire-and-forget. It can be manually guided over 50 meters and has a maximum range of 5 kilometers (3 miles). 

The platform differs from similar anti-tank systems, such as the US-made BGM-71 TOW, in its ability to be launched and controlled remotely, via a separate control station. The cost of one laser-guided missile for the Stugna-P is estimated at approximately $20,000 (€18,000). 

Open-source information suggests that this marked the 10th Ka-52 ‘Alligator’ attack helicopter of the Russian Air Force to be visually confirmed as destroyed or captured since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.