A Russian Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter is conducting an attack run with rockets and is narrowly missed by what is most likely a shoulder-fired surface-air-missile (SAM). The saturation of anti-air systems throughout the battlespace has forced rotary wing pilots to abandon traditional tactics. Rather than traditional gun and rocket runs, or firing ATGMs from relatively stationary positions, pilots maintain a low flight path and then tilt the nose of the aircraft upwards to fire their rockets in a high trajectory, almost as an indirect fire munition. Fires delivered by this method are not particularly accurate, but they limit the exposure of the aircraft and increase survivability. Note how the nose of the helicopter tilts upwards just before it fires, and seconds later the pilot is rewarded with a SAM across his flight path.

About the Author

Cam

Cam served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps, deploying to the Horn of Africa and participating in combat operations in Iraq. He currently works in the maritime industry and in the defense sector as an instructor of combined arms planning and operations. An avid sailor, Cam founded and directs a nonprofit that supports veterans and first responders through sailing.