Drone May Have Taken Out Anti-Drug Helicopter

In the aerial war against drugs in Colombia, the drug cartels may be fighting back with drones. A Colombian National Police Black Hawk being used for “manual coca crop eradication efforts” was destroyed in an explosion in a mountainous area of the country on Thursday. At least 12 people on the helicopter were killed. The use of a drone to take out the helicopter was announced in a social media post by the governor of the state of Antioquia, Governor Andres Julian Rendon, but there have been questions raised about the accuracy of the post. Some have said an improvised IED took out the big helicopter, according to The War Zone. There’s video of the explosion from a distance.

Este video, grabado por un campesino de la vereda Los Toros, en Amalfi, registró el instante en el que un helicóptero adscrito a la Dirección Antinarcóticos de la @policiadecolombia, se precipitó a tierra en medio de un ataque que habría sido obra de las "disidencias de las Farc… pic.twitter.com/23S9vaLkwD

— Teleantioquia (@Teleantioquia) August 21, 2025

Militaries all over the world are concerned about the vulnerability of helicopters to drone attacks, to the point where they are canceling orders. Ironically, the alternative to helicopter appears to be increased use of drones. Ukraine is credited with pioneering the tactics for using inexpensive explosives-laden drones to destroy helicopters in its defense against the invasion by Russia. They’ve proven to be sitting ducks for the small remotely piloted kamikaze drones, as shown in the video below.

Mi-28N(M) smacked by Ukrainian AA FPV over Kursk, Russia pic.twitter.com/EUWxQEF9nV

— Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) August 7, 2024