At least six people on board a Qatari military helicopter have been killed in a crash in the Gulf state’s waters after a “technical malfunction”, the government said.
Seven people were on board, with Qatar’s interior ministry on Sunday saying operations continue to find the last missing person.
“A Qatari helicopter had a technical malfunction during a routine duty, which led to its crash in the regional waters of the State,” the country’s defence ministry earlier said in a statement on X.
President Trump honored two storied military veterans during his State of the Union address, including 100-year-old veteran Royce Williams of Escondido, who survived what is believed to be the longest dog fight in military history.
The former Navy fighter pilot, who was seated next to First Lady Melania Trump in the Capitol during the president’s address Tuesday night, flew more than 220 missions in World War II as well as the wars in Korea and Vietnam.
Trump called Williams “a living legend” before describing his war-time heroics.
“In the skies over Korea in 1952, Royce was in the dogfight of a lifetime, a legendary dogfight,” Trump said. “Flying through blizzard conditions, his squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes.”
Despite being outnumbered, Williams took down four of the jet fighters as his plane was hit more than 260 times and he was severely injured.
The incident was kept confidential because the Soviet Union was not officially a combatant in the Korean conflict, and American officials feared that if the air battle became known, it could compel the Soviets to formally enter the war.
Williams didn’t speak about the details of the encounter — even with family members — until records about the dogfight were declassified in 2002.
“His story was secret for over 50 years. He didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said. “Tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
Trump then announced that Williams would receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. Melania Trump placed the blue-ribboned medal around his neck.
Williams was the guest of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall), a fellow veteran.
“My friend, constituent, and lifelong hero Royce Williams is a Top Gun pilot like no other, an American hero for all time, and now, a recipient of the highest honor in the land,” Issa said in a statement. “It was many years in the making, but it is my honor to have fought all these years for Royce to gain a recognition that he has not sought, but so richly deserves.”
Trump also announced that the Medal of Honor would be awarded to Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, an Army helicopter pilot who was gravely wounded in the 2026 raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle, and Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip. One bullet after another, he observed four agonizing shots shredding his leg into numerous pieces,” Trump said.
Despite the gunshot wounds to his legs, with blood flowing through the helicopter he was piloting, “Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat, turn the helicopter around so the gunners could take care of business, saving the lives of his fellow warriors from what could have been a catastrophic crash deep in enemy territory,” Trump said.
Trump added, “Chief Warrant Officer Slover is still recovering from his serious wounds, but I’m thrilled to say that he is here tonight with his wife, Amy. Eric and Amy, come on in.”
Slover, with the aid of a walker, entered the gallery. “In recognition of Eric’s actions above and beyond the call of duty,” Trump said, “I would now like to ask Gen. Jonathan Braga to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with our nation’s highest military award.”
Trump added that he too hopes to one day receive a Medal of Honor.
“But I was informed I’m not allowed to give it to myself,” Trump said. “But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday.”
The incident in Isfahan province follows crash of fighter jet in Hamadan province less than a week ago.
Published On 24 Feb 202624 Feb 2026
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Tehran, Iran – Two military pilots and two merchants have been killed after an army helicopter crashed into a fruit market in central Iran.
The crash on Tuesday morning occurred in Dorcheh, a town in Isfahan province, where the army has a major airbase, according to state media, which said the cause was likely a technical fault in the aircraft.
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Footage broadcast by state media from the scene of the crash showed the wreckage and emergency responders putting out the fire.
The Army Aviation Training Centre, in a statement, identified the killed soldiers as Colonel Hamed Sarvazad, the pilot; and his co-pilot, Major Mojtaba Kiani.
Two people working at their booths in the market were also reportedly killed on the scene after the helicopter crashed and caught fire.
The army centre said the cause of the crash is under investigation. The local judiciary chief, Asadollah Jafari, said he had also opened a case and dispatched investigators.
The crash comes less than a week after an Iranian Air Force fighter jet, reportedly an old United States-built F-4 model, crashed during a late-night training mission in the western province of Hamadan.
State media reported that one of the pilots was killed, but the other survived after successfully ejecting. The cause of that crash is under investigation, but state media said it was likely caused by a technical fault, as well.
Iran has been largely unable to upgrade its ageing fleet of aircraft, both military and civilian, as a result of decades-long sanctions imposed by the US and its allies.
Iran has purchased a number of fighter and training aircraft from Russia, and has been seeking to buy advanced Su-35 jets, but they have yet to be delivered by Moscow.
The crash of the helicopter took place amid rising tensions between the US and Iran before a new round of nuclear talks, which are set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday.
Iranian officials have warned that the country will not “bow down” to US pressure as Washington bolsters its military presence in the region.
In recent weeks, the US military has amassed hundreds of advanced fighter aircraft, both in military bases and on two aircraft carrier strike groups, as it threatens to strike Iran if it fails to reach a deal on its nuclear and missile programmes.
Tehran has rejected negotiations about its missiles, but has said an agreement may be possible to ensure it will never possess a nuclear weapon.
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As well as being a key component of Russia’s attack helicopter force in the war in Ukraine, the Mi-28 Havoc has been in the news recently on account of its apparent delivery to Iran. Meanwhile, one lesser-known aspect of the Mi-28 is its ability to transport two or three passengers in a cramped fuselage compartment, a feature that is seen clearly in a recently published video of the rotorcraft.
The footage in question originates with the state-owned Russia Television and Radio channel and shows a Russian Aerospace Forces Mi-28NM — the latest domestic version of the gunship — undergoing pre-flight checks at a forward airstrip somewhere in the Ukrainian conflict zone. The video reportedly dates from this month.
At the start of the video, a technician is seen handling hoses that run into the helicopter’s port-side rear fuselage via an open door. Typically, such hoses are attached to dehumidifier units, which then blow warm, dry air through the aircraft to keep everything dry. This is especially important for sensitive avionics in cold weather, as on this snowy airfield. Once the helicopter is fully powered up, it should keep itself warm enough for moisture not to be a problem.
Perhaps the best available view of the Mi-28 rear-fuselage compartment, with the access door open. via X
What’s most interesting, however, is that the open door provides a rare look into this rear-fuselage compartment, which has the capacity to carry two or three people, or an equivalent load of cargo. Of course, this is in addition to the Mi-28’s two crew seated in tandem in the cockpit — the weapon system operator/navigator forward and the pilot to the rear.
The fuselage compartment, unique among in-service attack helicopters, was part of the Mi-28’s design when it was first schemed back in the second half of the 1970s. The Soviet Union had ordered Mil to design a new-generation combat helicopter, equivalent to the U.S. AH-64 Apache, but this feature was all its own.
The Mi-28’s configuration was broadly similar to the AH-64, but marked a significant move away from the philosophy enshrined in the previous Mi-24 Hind. As we have discussed in the past, the Mi-24 had been built around a passenger/cargo cabin — with space for a squad of infantry — although, as it was developed, it expanded its anti-armor capabilities, too.
A walkaround video of a privately owned Mi-24 in the United States. The passenger/cargo cabin is seen in detail from around the 11:30 mark:
Hind MI-24 Helicopter Walkaround Tour
In contrast, the Mi-28 was a tank-killer first and foremost, with no cabin, and better overall performance. However, there was internal space for a much smaller compartment and one that would be very useful for retrieving downed pilots from the battle area, especially for grabbing a pilot who went down within the same flight. Bearing in mind the expected aircraft losses on Europe’s Central Front — especially among low-flying helicopters — this made a lot of sense.
Other tasks could have included moving mechanics and tools to conduct limited repairs of other helicopters in an emergency. Potentially, it could even have been used for inserting and picking up infiltrators or saboteurs.
Having the option of using the Mi-28 as a kind of ad-hoc, or non-traditional combat search and rescue (CSAR) asset would also mean that the aircraft could operate on its own and on the fly if other air or ground assets were not available. Traditionally, CSAR helicopters have to operate with an armed escort. It’s unknown whether the passenger cabin has been used at all in the war in Ukraine, but the limited space, presence of avionics equipment, and complete lack of windows mean it’s only really suited to emergencies. For more typical CSAR missions in the Ukrainian theater, Mi-8 Hips and Mi-24s are typically used, with an escort of Mi-28 or Ka-52 Hokum attack helicopters.
A close-up view of the Mi-28 rear-fuselage compartment reveals how cramped it is, including the presence of avionics equipment. via X
As for other attack helicopter types attempting personnel recovery, the best-known incident is likely that involving two British Army Apache gunships in Afghanistan in January 2007. During that dramatic mission, four Royal Marines strapped themselves to the outside of two Apaches for an attempted combat rescue. Ultimately, they were only able to recover the body of their fallen comrade, Lance Cpl. Ford, who had already been killed.
The Italian Army, too, has explored the concept of using its A129 Mangusta attack helicopters for personnel rescue, strapping a pair of soldiers to the main landing gear struts. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command operates MH-6M Little Birds with side-mounted planks to externally airlift special operators. A more elaborate modular system, used to transport small numbers of personnel, was schemed for the Bell 360 Invictus armed scout helicopter, as you can read about here.
A diagram depicting four individuals sitting on a modular seating system fitted in the weapons bay of a 360 Invictus helicopter. USPTO
It’s also worth pointing out another planned ‘survival’ feature of the Mi-28, namely its crew-escape system. Unlike the Ka-52, the Mi-28 doesn’t have ejection seats. Instead, the Zvezda/Tomilino Pamir-K crew seats have belts that tighten automatically when high-g loads are encountered. As originally envisaged, the crew escape system would work as follows: During any kind of catastrophic failure at altitude, the cockpit doors would be blown off, the stub wings would be jettisoned together with their loads, and an inflatable door-sill sleeve would be filled with air. This was to protect the crew from the protruding main landing gear and cannon and help them clear the helicopter, after which they would return to the ground by parachute. In theory, at least.
Ka-52 alligator and its unique K-37-800M ejection seats. Before the rocket in the ejection seat deploys, the rotor blades are blown away by explosive charges in the rotor disc and the canopy is jettisoned. pic.twitter.com/BzPP9SNXMZ
In practice, it seems the crew escape system never reached operational status on the Mi-28, likely due to the very limited window in which it would be of practical use.
According to the Oryx open-source tracking group, Russia has lost 19 Mi-28s since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago. This figure could be higher because Oryx only tabulates losses it can confirm visually. Russia began the conflict with a force of around 110 Mi-28s of all versions.
⚡️Video of the destruction of the Mi-28 of the 🇷🇺Russian Air Force using an 🇺🇦FPV drone. The first recorded case pic.twitter.com/LWosDeX2Ah
The Mi-28 has had a notably protracted history since it was first flown in prototype form in 1982. The original Havoc was abandoned by the early 1990s, and Mil pressed ahead with the radar-equipped, night-capable Mi-28N version. Deliveries of production Mi-28N helicopters to Russia began in 2008, and export versions have since been sold to Algeria, Iraq, Uganda, and, apparently, now also Iran.
For Russia, the basic version remains the Mi-28N, which also undertook combat operations in Syria starting in 2016.
Less common is the Mi-28UB (only 24 of which were produced), which received a mast-mounted radar, lacking on the Mi-28N, and dual controls. As for the latest Mi-28NM version — as seen in the video above — this also has the mast-mounted radar and other changes, including new missiles. As well as having been ordered in quantity for Russia, there are also plans to bring older Mi-28N aircraft up to Mi-28NM standard.
Video of the radar-equipped Mi-28UB during a live-fire exercise in the Krasnodar region, March 2020:
Russian Mi-28UB live fire exercise
For all the changes that the Mi-28 has undergone since it first appeared, its highly compact passenger compartment remains one of its most unusual features.
The largest and most powerful helicopter has been in service since 1977
World’s biggest helicopter is so huge it once carried a gigantic ‘frozen woolly mammoth’(Image: Getty)
The Mil Mi-26 (codename: Halo) is a Russian-built helicopter and currently holds the title of the world’s largest. Having taken its maiden flight in 1977, the Mi-26 was initially built to transport heavy cargo to isolated locations inaccessible by conventional aircraft.
This huge helicopter boasts rear-loading doors and can carry up to 20 tonnes. Aviation specialists at Key Aero have named it the “undisputed king of military heavy lift helicopters”.
It measures 40 metres in length, making it “taller than a giraffe”, and is also the world’s most powerful helicopter.
“Two 11,400bhp engines allow it to carry loads weighing up to 20 tonnes. In 1982, the aircraft set the world record for the heaviest mass lifted to 2,000 metres by carrying a load of 56,768 kilograms, a record that still stands today.”
Aviation experts said it is “so big it can operate as a mobile hospital”. Perhaps the Mi-26’s most extraordinary cargo was a 20-ton, frozen woolly mammoth, reports the Express.
Back in 1999, the helicopter airlifted the preserved remains of a 23,000-year-old frozen Woolly Mammoth retrieved from Siberia’s frozen Taimyr Peninsula.
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Fair Lifts notes: “The Mi-26 is often the first choice for missions that involve transporting heavy machinery, including armoured vehicles, generators, and even small aircraft.
“Its eight-blade main rotor and twin-turbine engines deliver a unique blend of raw power and flight stability, enabling it to operate in some of the world’s harshest environments, from Siberian tundras to Middle Eastern deserts.”
The helicopter continues to serve actively today, mainly deployed by the Russian Aerospace Forces, but it’s also used across other nations, including China and India.
