would USA helicopters got shot down by the drone too?
I would guess so.
If we had a sensor package that could reliably detect FPV drones out there, I suspect that it’d be getting mass-produced and sent to the Ukrainians.
A helicopter can go faster than an FPV drone, so as long as it’s in the air, and has a bit of warning, it can just outfly the drone; the drone can’t catch up. Maybe multiple drones simultaneously coming from all directions, especially if there’s also heavy air defenses that prevent the helicopter from climbing, could still bring down a helicopter.
“A bit of warning” is probably overselling the acceleration of a traditional rotorcraft. You can’t safely get four tons of anything moving quickly using the same mechanism keeping it off the ground. Compare that with minimalist disposable quadcopters, with their zero-to-top-speed profile of “holy shit, where’d it go?”
I would guess so.
If we had a sensor package that could reliably detect FPV drones out there, I suspect that it’d be getting mass-produced and sent to the Ukrainians.
A helicopter can go faster than an FPV drone, so as long as it’s in the air, and has a bit of warning, it can just outfly the drone; the drone can’t catch up. Maybe multiple drones simultaneously coming from all directions, especially if there’s also heavy air defenses that prevent the helicopter from climbing, could still bring down a helicopter.
“A bit of warning” is probably overselling the acceleration of a traditional rotorcraft. You can’t safely get four tons of anything moving quickly using the same mechanism keeping it off the ground. Compare that with minimalist disposable quadcopters, with their zero-to-top-speed profile of “holy shit, where’d it go?”