The threat is not limited to parked aircraft. In 2025 and 2026, FPV drones were confirmed to have downed helicopters in flight:
- A transport helicopter was hit while deliberately flying low, together with an attack-helicopter escort, to evade air defence.
- A few months later, an attack helicopter was downed in flight by an FPV drone for the first time — the low altitude at impact left the crew no time to eject.
Note
Both incidents disprove the assumption that flying low is automatically safer. See also Chapter 2.2 on armed drones specifically hunting slow, low-flying aircraft.