Turkish Cobra Helicopter Shot Down With Heat Seeking Missile

first published on May 14, 2016 by Will

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A Turkish Cobra attack helicopter has been shot down by PKK militants in southeastern Turkey near the Iraq border on 13 May 2016. The gunship was providing Turkish troops with close air support during a skirmish with the Kurdish rebel group when it was targeted by what appears to be an Igla MANPAD.

Before the video surfaced, Turkish military claimed the helicopter crashed due to a technical failure, but as we can see it was an infrared homing surface-to-air missile that brought it down. It’s unclear at this time where the rebel group may have gotten the air defense system or if they have more. Both pilots were killed in the event.