.ON JULY 31ST images of a Russian Mi-8 transport helicopter, plunged and burning, started flowing on social networks. That in itself was not unusual: Ukrainian forces have actually shot down scores of helicopters given that the Russian attack began. Much more astonishing was actually the claim in the Ukrainian push that this chopper had been actually downed by a small drone. A video released due to the nation's armed forces a few times later on seemed to provide credence to that claim: the video footage (view below) reveals a drone hitting another Russian plane, this time an Mi-28 assault chopper, supposedly requiring it to make an unexpected emergency touchdown. Was actually these privileged favorites-- or indicators of a breakthrough in aerial combat?