ISLAMABAD: The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has released footage showing a low-cost fiber-optic FPV drone destroying a US UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter at Victoria Base near Baghdad International Airport.
This strike marks a humiliating blow to American air assets in a heavily guarded facility.
The video captures the agile drone maneuvering undetected inside the base perimeter before slamming into the helicopter and an adjacent radar system.
Regional security sources confirmed multiple explosions and fires following the impact.
The Islamic Resistance claimed eight separate rocket and drone attacks on Victoria Base in recent days alone.
In a broader 24-hour period the group announced 21 operations targeting US positions across Iraq and the region using dozens of drones and missiles.
The UH-60M Black Hawk carries a unit cost of roughly 18 million dollars according to the latest US Army contract that awarded 433 million dollars for just 24 new helicopters.
By contrast the fiber-optic FPV kamikaze drone is estimated to cost as little as 500 dollars yet proved capable of bypassing advanced air defences.
This cost asymmetry of nearly 36 000 to one exposes glaring vulnerabilities in high-value platforms against commercial-grade technology.
Since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has conducted more than 180 strikes on US forces in Iraq Syria and Jordan.
The United States maintains approximately 2 500 troops in Iraq with Victoria Base serving as a critical logistics and special operations hub near the capital.
While Pentagon officials have yet to confirm the helicopter loss independent analysis of the released footage by regional outlets including Shafaq News and Iraqi security contacts supports the militants claims.
Fibre-optic guidance allows these drones to evade electronic jamming and GPS denial tactics that typically protect forward bases.
Military analysts describe the incident as part of an evolving pattern where low-cost swarms challenge billion-dollar defence investments.
The US Army operates thousands of Black Hawks worldwide with the total fleet valued in the tens of billions of dollars.
Each verified destruction compounds sustainment pressures amid repeated asymmetric assaults.
Iraqi media reports detail columns of smoke rising from the base after the latest wave of strikes with air defences intercepting only some incoming threats.
The Islamic Resistance operates under an umbrella of Iran-backed factions that have intensified operations in support of regional Axis of Resistance goals.
Such repeated successes against sophisticated targets raise urgent questions about current force protection doctrines in Iraq.
Victoria Base previously known as Camp Victory has faced escalating pressure with non-stop attacks documented in recent weeks.
The footage release serves both as propaganda and operational proof amplifying the group message of effective resistance at minimal expense.
Defence experts warn that proliferation of fibre-optic FPV systems through aligned networks could reshape future conflicts far beyond Iraq.
As tensions persist the destruction of this multimillion-dollar asset underscores how inexpensive innovations increasingly dictate battlefield outcomes against conventional superiority.