It wasn’t immediately clear if the helicopter destroyed in the video was the same aircraft.
U.S.-backed Syrian rebels, the Free Syrian Army, are claiming to have taken out a Russian rescue helicopter with a TOW anti-tank missile, according to several reports. The aircraft was said to be near the crash site of the Russian fighter jet shot down by Turkey.
Video footage purporting to show the moment the downed helicopter was destroyed surfaced online:
As The Telegraph points out, the strike would have serious implications for the U.S. government if confirmed:
More with video @ The Blaze
I remember when back in the 80's we used to make a mock of the military hardware produced by the then USSR. Their stuff was not as good as ours, cheap imitation. We had the faith that our technology would always be superior to theirs, and would always give US the advantage over the quantity they might bring against us. It was believed that the Ruskies did not care about their soldiers the way we did ours. I admit, I was taken in by our propaganda. Now, I think things have changed.
ReplyDeleteThe once great "Super Power", the USA is by any objective measure in decline. Many are going to object, but some one has got to say it; if we were ever to go to war against Russia, we would lose it.
if we were ever to go to war against Russia, we would lose it.
DeleteSeems like commies usually do, as they care not one whit how many men are sacrificed.
While not impossible, it is HIGHLY unlikely that this happened the way it is said. TOW missiles are wire guided and the operator must keep the target in the cross hairs of the sight during the entire time of flight. None of the TOW variants have a proximity warhead so they would have to have a direct hit on a moving target. TOW was designed to hit targets moving at 15 MPH (tanks), not 120 MPH (helicopters). A lucky shot indeed, well outside the designed capability of that system.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is warmed by this true statement about a missile that my wife and I helped manufacture the rocket grains for so long ago. Was it really 40 years?
DeleteI never dreamed one would be fired at an aircraft.
I never dreamed one would be fired at an aircraft.
Delete& it may not have been.
Watched the film. Still skeptical. That helo was already disabled. Sitting on the ground in enemy territory with blades not turning, long enough for a TOW crew to climb a nearby peak, in plane sight, set up and fire. No sign of other people milling around the Helo. No sign of other Military support aircraft providing cover. Looks like target practice on a stationary target. Well within the missile capability, just not "Taking out a Russian helicopter". That one was already taken out.
ReplyDeleteIt is also known that ISIS has several of those type of helos that it can't operate because they are mechanically broke. They may have towed on to an isolated spot for this footage.
That helo was already disabled. Sitting on the ground in enemy territory with blades not turning, long enough for a TOW crew to climb a nearby peak, in plane sight, set up and fire. No sign of other people milling around the Helo. No sign of other Military support aircraft providing cover. Looks like target practice on a stationary target.
DeleteMore than skeptical now.