Russia equipped Geran-2 UAVs with air-to-air missiles to shoot down Mi-24 helicopters.
Russia has upgraded the Geran-2 UAV with R-60 missiles and Mesh WiFi, enabling real-time hunting of Ukrainian interceptor aircraft without the need for Starlink satellites.
Russia's Geran-2 suicide drone is changing the landscape of air combat by equipping it with R-60 air-to-air missiles, directly shooting down Ukrainian manned aircraft. The emergence of this new variant transforms drone squadrons from mere ground attack weapons into versatile aerial target hunting systems.
The incident involved shooting down a Mi-24 helicopter with an R-60 missile.
On February 9th, the 11th Army Aviation Brigade of Ukraine confirmed that a Mi-24 armed helicopter had crashed while on duty, killing both crew members. According to Alexander Kots, a field correspondent for Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Mi-24 was hit in the engine by an R-60 air-to-air missile launched from a Geran-2 UAV while attempting to intercept a target.
Notably, the Geran-2 crew directly controlled the missile launch vehicle at the time of the attack, without relying on the Starlink satellite system. This demonstrates that Russia has developed a solution to maintain stable connectivity even when the enemy, along with SpaceX, attempts to disable the satellite internet services owned by Moscow.
Mesh WiFi technology and real-time control capabilities.
Serhii Beskrestnov, Advisor to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, stated that Russia has equipped the Geran-2 with radio modems deployed in a Mesh WiFi communication network model. In this system, each UAV acts as a "station" that both transmits and receives data, forming a unified network of 50 to 100 devices.
This mechanism allows data to be immediately redirected to another device if a station is destroyed, ensuring the operating crew can control each UAV at any given time. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Myronenko acknowledged that dealing with real-time controlled UAVs is extremely difficult, as they can actively counterattack fighter jets or helicopters on interception missions.
ISW's history of confrontations and counter-attack tactics.
The incident on February 9th was not the first time a Geran-2 had caused damage to the Ukrainian Air Force with its air-to-air missiles. Previously, a Geran-2 shot down a Su-27 fighter jet of the 39th Brigade on December 8th, 2025. Just nine days later, another Mi-24 helicopter belonging to the 12th Brigade was destroyed, resulting in the deaths of Ukrainian Hero of Ukraine pilot Oleksandr Shemet and his crew.
Analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the US indicates that, in addition to forward-facing missiles for hunting aircraft, some recent Geran-2 variants are also equipped with rear-facing missiles. This design allows the UAV to attack pursuing aircraft from behind while continuing its journey to its original target on the ground.
The combination of air-to-air missiles and new connectivity mechanisms is transforming Geran-2 squadrons into a unified, multi-layered combat system. This creates a powerful deterrent, forcing the Ukrainian Air Force to act more cautiously when deploying manned vehicles to intercept UAVs.
