Britain is one of the countries that is keen to provide weapons assistance to Ukraine, one of the newest is the Starstreak missile. One of the British-made missiles with advanced technology is said to have acted by shooting down a Russian helicopter.
As quoted by us from Metro, the viral video of the Russian helicopter, which is thought to be of the Mi-28N type, seemed to split in two and fell after being shot by a Starstreak missile in the Luhanks area.
Sources from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and local media have confirmed that the downing of the Russian helicopter was the result of Starstreak fire operated by the Ukrainian army.
Starstreak is made by British company, Thales Air Defense. Also known as Starstreak HVM (High Velocity Missile), this missile accelerates to over Mach4 once fired, making it the world's fastest short-range surface-to-air missile.
Russian Mi-28UB gunship trainer shot down in Ukraine with StarStreak next gen MANPADS. Crew survived.pic.twitter.com/bJhaqL5rMZ
— WLVN Analysis🔍 (@TheLegateIN) April 2, 2022
Guided by a laser, Starstreak can aim at targets with precision and hard to anticipate. The operation is quite difficult and the soldiers who handle it need a long time to get training.
This weapon is designed for close air defense. Starstreak can be fired from a launcher on the surface to shoot fighter jets or helicopters up to a distance of 7 kilometers.
However, the Ukrainian army seems to be able to operate it quite well. England claimed to have provided training. "One of the biggest challenges is that the more sophisticated a weapon system is, the more training there is to use it," said Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
In addition to Starstreak, Britain has also provided thousands of anti-tank missiles and other weapons to Ukraine. The aid was said to be quite helpful in resisting the Russian invasion.
Responding to the incident of shooting missiles at his helicopter, the Russian side did not accept it. "They exacerbate the situation, make it more bloody. It seems that the weapon is new and high-precision. Naturally, our troops will see it as a target if its supplies enter the Ukrainian border," said Andrey Kelin, Russia's ambassador to the UK.