That was definitely too close for comfort!
Funker530 writes
After a recent release from the PKK showed the apparent shoot-down of a Turkish Army Sikorsky helicopter, we released an article stating that we thought it was a miss. PKK troops in the video celebrated as if it were a successful attack. Now the Turkish military has approved the release of a video that disproves the successful shoot-down of the helicopter, and shows that the ATGM merely impacted with the Turkish troops position, and caused them to be in disarray momentarily.
The image above was taken out of the video from the PKK perspective. You can view that video at this link. It shows the ATGM on it’s flight path towards the aircraft. In the video that they released, there was a short, but very distinct jump-cut put into the video to make it appear as if the ATGM struck the tail rotor of the Sikorsky helicopter as it took off from the Turkish hill-top position. New video evidence has been released by the Turkish military however, that completely debunks the video release from the PKK, and shows that all the ATGM did was rattle the troops they had in position where the strike took place.
It is interesting to see the propaganda battle happening between the two organizations. One group’s video is almost always met with the other group’s perspective in an attempt to refute the video as being false. This is not only a one-sided thing that is happening either. The Turks have been guilty of releasing propaganda in the past that was also almost immediately debunked by footage coming from the other side of the fence. This, in my opinion, is why warfare in the 21st century has only proved that cameras are just as important as a machine gun on the battlefield, as wars are often won and lost based on support from the people both sides are fighting for.
The picture above was taken out of the Turkish point of view. It was recorded by one of the soldiers on the ground at the position in question. The soldier, probably recording a cool video to show his family back home (Instead he ended up on Funker530. #WorldStar #WarPorn), watched the helicopter escape the ATGM fire before anyone even knew the Konkers or Fagot missile were inbound to their position. Shortly after the helicopter leaves frame, they are struck by the ATGM, and you can actually see the sparks and fire underneath of the soldier as his camera is facing towards the ground as he quickly egresses from the position, along with his bowels.
The primary thing that we should take away from this, and other recent events that have happened concerning a Special Forces team in Afghanistan, and going all the way back to a group of Scout Snipers, is that cameras are here to stay. Since they have been downsized to a tiny computer that fits in your pocket, or an even smaller device that can be worn on a pair of sunglasses, commanders need to start adapting. In fact, leaders down to the squad…