The Mi-24 is one of the most admired and feared attack helicopters with its impressive appearance
and high weapon carrying capacity. This flying beast, whose NATO reporting name is Hind,
has proven itself in major battles in many parts of the world. The helicopter, which
can still find new users with its new models, left its mark on half a century both in terms
of militarily and culturally. Now we are investigating the Mi-24, a true attack helicopter legend.
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Preferred by more than 60 countries, the Mi-24 is the most widely used helicopter and has
fought in many parts of the world. It has been an important system that could
not be ignored not only by Western military planners but also by Hollywood.
Don't you think a Puma resembled the Mi-24 deserved the award for the best-supporting
actor makes Rambo 2 and Rambo 3 into legendary movies too?
And isn't it possible to see its impact even in the struggle for life and death between
Jedi and Sith in a galaxy far, far away? Although it has become a legend today, in
the beginning, the faith of the Soviet military planners about the Mi-24 was very low.
In the early 1960s, the Soviet Mil company started to work on an innovative system which
was basically a flying infantry fighting vehicle. It meant that the new helicopter should be
able to perform both fire support and infantry transport duties.
In 1966, Mil unveiled a mock-up to demonstrate its new concept.
The value of this new concept was immediately apparent to some, but many were sceptical
of it. Yet, the US Army's successful use of gunship
helicopters in Vietnam ended the debate between these two groups in a short time.
Thus, Mil presented two conceptual designs, one was the comparatively small and single-engined,
other was heavy and twin-engined. Kamov also offered a version of the Ka-25
naval helicopter as a low-cost solution for this requirement.
After extensive consideration, in 1968, the Soviet Army's preference was Mil's heavy helicopter
concept. Flight tests of Mil's helicopter prototype
began one year later. In simple term, it was a highly modified Mi-8, whose NATO reporting
name is Hip, for gunship helicopter role. Many airframe components and sub-component
came from Mi-8 and its naval variant Mi-14, NATO reporting name is Haze.
In 1970, acceptance tests started. After 18 month trials, many changes were required.
For example, the fuselage was strengthened to solve fatigue problems and vibration levels.
The position of anti-tank missile pylons was moved from the fuselage to the wingtips.
After these changes, the mass production of the helicopter, now called Mi-24A started
in 1970. It became operational in 1972. However, the Mi-24A was more like a test platform
than a real gunship helicopter. While mass production of this model continued, the Mil
engineers had to deal with many design flaws. For example, the three-blade tail rotor, which
was on the starboard in the first production versions of the Mi-24A, had been repositioned
to the port side to increase efficiency in later models.
Also, the design of the cockpit was causing an inadequate view of the pilot.
The Mi-24D whose mass production began in 1973, has ended these problems.
Unlike its predecessor, this model has a tandem cockpit with a double bubble canopy.
The rear seat is 30 centimetres higher than the front.
All later versions of the helicopter have this configuration.
The pilot and the gunner seat inside the titanium-armoured tub in the cockpit.
Their windscreens are bullet-proof. In an emergency, the gunner can also fly the
helicopter. Thanks to the overpressurized cockpit and
troop compartment, the helicopter can be operated in an NBC environment.
The armoured fuselage and the titanium rotor blades are resistant against 12.7mm rounds.
There are three pylons on the mid-mounted stub wings.
At high speed, they provide considerable lift. The design of airframe has high aerodynamic
efficiency. Also, the Mi-24 fitted with retractable landing
gear to reduce drag. These features make the helicopter fast.
Unlike other attack helicopters, the Mi-24 is capable of carrying eight infantry.
However, experiences during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan showed that this capability
did not work as expected. For the Soviet Mi-24 crew members fighting
in Afghanistan, both engaging on target and thinking about the safety of the transported
soldiers had been too much of a burden. Besides, carrying eight soldiers and the armour
plates in the troop compartment decreased the performance of the helicopter as it increased
the weight. To overcome these problems, the Soviet Army
started to use the Mi-24s in fire support missions and the Mi-8s in troop transport
missions. It has been observed that carrying a technician
with additional fuel and ammunition in this compartment allows the Mi-24s to be used longer
and more effectively. Also, carrying a technician who handles a
light machine gun in a window port was providing the Mi-24 ability to "watch its back" while
leaving a target area. Depending on its model, the Mi-24 is equipped
with different weapons. The Mi-24A had one man-operated machine gun
on its nose. The Mi-24D version has a four-barreled 12.7mm
machine gun mounted for the turret, while the Mi-24P model has a 30mm twin-barrel cannon
in a fixed position on its right. The Mi-24VP has a 23mm twin-barrel gun.
In the beginning, The Soviet Army planned to use the 9K114 Shturm anti-tank missiles,
whose NATO reporting name is AT-6 Spiral, with the Mi-24s.
However, due to the delay in the development of this missile, the helicopter was first
equipped with the 3M11 Falanga. Yet, this missile, whose NATO reporting name was AT-2
Swatter, was obsolete even in those years. For this reason, many users have equipped
their Mi-24s with the 9M14 Malyutka, NATO reporting name AT-3 Sagger.
In the following period, the helicopter has gained the capability of firing the 9K114.
Today, modernized Mi-24s can use high-capability anti-tank missiles such as the 9M120 Ataka,
whose NATO reporting name is AT-9 Spiral 2. The helicopter has a two-man crew. Many countries
have also added a technician to the crew. The Mi-24 can carry eight infantries. The
fuselage has a length of 17.51 meters and a total length of the helicopter is 19.79
meters. Its rotor diameter is 17.3 meters while its height is about 5.47 meters. With
an empty weight of 7,580 kilograms, the maximum take-off weight is 11,500 kilograms. Two 1,600
kiloWatt TV3-117V turboshaft engines provide a maximum speed of 310 kilometres per hour.
The cruising speed of the helicopter is 270 kilometres per hour. The Mi-24, which has
a range of 450 kilometres, can reach a range of 1,000 kilometres with external fuel tanks.
Its service ceiling is 4,950 meters while its hover ceiling is 1,400 meters. As we mentioned
earlier, the weapons of the Mi-24 differs depending on its models.
The helicopter has many production and modernized variants. Since it will take a lot of time
to talk about all of them, we will focus on some major versions.
Export models of the Mi-24s are called Mi-35. The Mi-25 is the simplified and low-cost version
specifically for Third World use. The Mi-24 Super Hind Mk III is the modernized
version of the helicopter by Paramount Advanced Technologies of South Africa.
This variant has a 20mm Vektor F2 gun in a new chin turret with external ammunition storage.
The helicopter can fire the long-range laser-guided ZT-3 Ingwe anti-tank missile.
The Super Hind Mk IV model is equipped with the Ukrainian Barrier anti-tank missile.
The Mi-24VM has non-retractable landing gear and the shortened wings.
There are two pylons under the wings, instead of three.
This variant has elastomeric bearings, composite main rotor blades, and X-shaped tail rotor
the same Mi-28's. The helicopter uses the Klimov VK-2500-II
turboshaft engines which provide better high altitude performance. The avionics and electro-optic
surveillance systems are also modernized. Even though the USSR planned to replace Mi-24s
with a new attack helicopter in the 1970s due to its low anti-tank capacity, it proved
itself as indispensable in many battles. The Mi-24 was used in combat first time by
Ethiopia during the Ogaden War. The helicopters were one of the key weapon systems for Ethiopian
victory over Somalia. But the Mi-24 gained its real reputation during
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In the early stage of the war, it was a weapon of
terror for the Mujahideen. Once a Mi-24 scared a group of Mujahideen away by manoeuvring
aggressively to rescue a company of infantry. However, the helicopter had been out of ammunition.
Besides escorting troop helicopters and providing air support for ground forces, the Mi-24 s
were protecting land convoys against ambushes. The Soviet Army was additionally using them
for hunter-killer operations. The Mi-24 hunter-killer groups were consisting of a minimum of two
helicopters. More often, the Soviet Army preferred the groups of four or eight Mi-24s, to provide
mutual fire support. The Mujahideen could occasionally counter
the Mi-24s with RPG-type weapons and machine guns heavier than 12.7mm.
However, these efforts were rare and unproductive. After a while, the balances changed with the
Stinger and Redeye missiles that came with US assistance.
Now it was time for the Mi-24's to be scared. According to Russian sources, 27 Mi-24s were
shot down by these missiles in Afghanistan. But Western sources estimate that this number
is much higher. Although they were the nightmare of the Iranian
infantry during the Iran Iraq War, the Iraqi Mi-25s were quite insufficient for anti-tank
missions. To overcome this problem, the Iraqis started
to use them in hunter-killer groups together with the Gazelle carrying the HOT missiles.
While the Mi-25s were dealing with infantry and air defence troops, the Gazelles were
attacking to tanks. During this war, the Iraqi Mi-25s conducted
many air-to-air helicopter combats. According to some sources, during the war,
the Hinds claimed 10 victories against AH-1s, in exchange of six lost.
Even, once, an Iraqi Mi-24D managed to shot down an Iranian F-4 Phantom II using S-5 unguided
rockets. Iraqi Mi-25s also claimed 43 kills against
other Iranian helicopters, such as UH-1s. It is claimed that in 1992, a Russian Mi-24VP
shot down a Georgian Su-25 using a 9K114 anti-tank missile.
While in the 1980s many analysts thought the modern attack helicopters overshadowed the
Mi-24, it has shined brighter once again after 1990s.
After the end of the First Cold War, many African countries that needed an aircraft
for counter-insurgency missions began to acquire the surplus Hinds. The Mi-24s have played
important roles in all corners of this continent. The Mi-24 is still successfully fighting in
Africa, as well as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. It is an indispensable helicopter.
In fact, Russia, which announced that it would replace the Hind fleet with the Mi-28s and
Ka-52s by 2015, changed this decision. The Russian Mi-24s are being modernized and will
continue to instil fear in their enemies for many years to come. The helicopter is continuing
to add new pages to its saga. The combat-proven impressive beast Mi-24 deserves to be called
a true legend. Thanks for watching our video. And please
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