iStockphoto / Anna_Anikina / ajriya
A wild video out of Russia has taken the Internet by storm. It shows one Russian solder being thrown from a helicopter machine gun turret that had been mounted as part of a training exercise and the gun spraying bullets everywhere after he lost control.
The soldier’s training compatriot appeared to have the reflexes of a lynx as he was able to duck and get out of the way before a barrage of bullets went flying in his direction and everywhere in a 360-degree area.
Russian Soldier Loses Control After Being Thrown By Machine Gun During Training Exercise
This video was shared online by Russian military reporters/bloggers and has since gone viral on X (formerly known Twitter) and other social media platforms. While it might look surreal at first, TheTimes and others have reported that it is not AI-generated.
The weapon in the video is a YakB-12.7 rotary machine gun, typically mounted to a helicopter, but is on the bed of a military truck here. One soldier can be heard saying “fire when ready” to give the signal and that’s when mayhem breaks loose.
The Russian soldier almost immediately loses control of the gun after being spun around and is flown off while the other person standing there acts takes immediate cover. Bullets fly in every direction as the YakB-12.7 rotary machine gun continues to spin. Check it out below:
I guess if there’s any silver lining here it is the soldier managed to hold on for one or two rotations before being tossed like a rag doll. This is a weapon that is capable of firing up to 5,000 rounds per minute. The fact the other soldier was able to hit the deck and make it out of there unscathed is one of the biggest mysteries of this video.