Modern-Aviation

The famous Mil Mi-24 "Hind" helicopter stemmed from a Soviet Cold-War requirement for a heavily armed and armored transport helicopter following in the mold of the equally famous American Bell UH-1 "Huey" model. American activity in the Vietnam War considering their helicopter usage directly influenced the form and function of the Soviet design, developing one of the most iconic aircraft of its time. The type went on to see combat operations throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and continues on in a more assault-oriented role even today - despite its Cold War upbringing. The Hind remains a feared, flexible and proven battlefield implement. Its strengths have been formulated into the more potent Mil Mi-28 "Havoc" which is currently seeing deliveries to the Russian Army. While the Mi-28 is a more dedicated anti-tank platform developed specifically to combat enemy armor with crew and systems survivability as a priority, the Mi-24 - its days appearing numbered - still finds a use on the battlefields of today.

Following the end of hostilities that was the Korean War, attention turned to the evolving nature of the battlefield as it related to the helicopter. The Korean War saw the first large-scale use of the helicopter in a variety of roles and the Soviet Army lacked any viable use of the vehicle type. War across Europe - should the Cold War ever go hot - would involve the coordination of thousands of troops coupled with air support and ground support to wage an effective war along multiple fronts. While armored vehicle carriers certainly had their place in Soviet doctrine, thought was given to move mechanized warfare into a new category by delivering a heavily armed assault helicopter capable of transporting combat-ready personnel into critical situations.
Various designs were tossed about with the Soviet firm of Mil heading the initiative. American involvement in the Vietnam War ushered in the new and viable concept of the armed helicopter as both transport and gunnery platform and Soviet authorities were convinced of a similar design. The Soviets initially took to arming their Mil Mi-4 "Hound" helicopters for the role but this was nothing more than an interim attempt. Mil - with founder Mikhail Mil in the lead role himself - eventually was tabbed for the endeavor and the ground work was laid for a competing armed helicopter of Soviet origin. The formal Soviet request occurred on May 6th, 1968 for a heavily armed and armored, twin-engine helicopter of great capability an survivability. The official Mil design (to be known as the Mi-24) was signed off in February of 1969.

Development of the new helicopter essentially stemmed from the strengths of Mil's preceding product - the Mi-8 "Hip". This included the engine arrangement as well as a slightly-modified main rotor attached to a two-person cockpit ahead of a passenger cabin. The fuselage was all-new in its design approach, intended to provide a much smaller head-on target to the enemy. The cockpit design saw the pilot and co-pilot seated in tandem under a joined glass cockpit, heavily framed and boxy in appearance.

First flight of a prototype occurred on September 19th, 1969, this days after a tethered prototype went airborne. These prototypes were eventually joined y ten developmental vehicles which eventually culminated in evaluations beginning June of 1970. This produced several design changes to the original arrangement (including flipping the direction of the tail rotor and adding the Hind-style ordnance-carrying wings to the mix). The type was finally accepted for serial production and formally introduced into Soviet military service in 1972 - beginning the legacy of what would become the most remembered and identifiable Soviet military machine of the Cold War and staff multitudes of inventories of Warsaw Pact nations. Its initial inception and ultimate global reach became a serious concern to NATO warplanners throughout the Cold War.

After some operational practice, the cockpit was redesigned to the more familiar Hind shape including two separate, stepped cockpits for better visibility and improved protection from ground-based fire. Additionally, the passenger-carrying quality was lessened as the attack role grew and munitions options took precedence over that of delivering troops to the field. The passenger cabin was later utilized for the carrying of "refill" AT-2 series "Swatter" anti-tank missiles. The changes - producing the well-known "Hind-D" line - helped the Hind grow its performance specifications while reducing its fragility in combat - particularly in the volatile low-level altitudes it was intended to operate in.
The Hind helicopter series saw its baptism of fire in the 1977 Ogaden War (1977-1978) which involved Ethiopian elements pitted against Somali forces though the first major Soviet use of the machine was in the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghanistan War where Hinds operated in concert with low-flying Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot" strike aircraft. The helicopter served in operations aimed at dislodging and disrupting rebel forces throughout the unforgiving Afghan terrain while being assigned to convoy transport and fire support missions as needed. The Mi-24 was designed specifically for such a conflict and made use of cannons, machine guns, rockets and conventional drop bombs in the regular sorties against its guerilla foe. While their heavy armament and armored systems proved well for the low-flying role at hand, these machines also proved vulnerable to low-altitude anti-aircraft systems - particularly the American-made, CIA-delivered FIM-92 "Stinger" short-ranged, surface-to-air missile. Despite high losses, Afghan rebels feared and respected the power of the Mi-24s and bestowed the rather terrifying nickname of "Satan's Chariot" to the helicopter. Despite the large Soviet commitment to the war effort, the Empire cut its losses in 1989. The last loss of life in the war occurred when an Mi-24 was shot down by Afghan rebels, its crew killed in the crash.

The next key showcase for the Mi-24 was in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. These forms were the Mi-25 export variant and fighting for the Iraqi military. The near-decade long conflict saw a massive loss of life on both sides with little ground being gained in either direction. While Hinds played a large role, their armament lacked the latest in available technology and were also susceptible to ground-based fire. A most infamous role undertaken by Mi-25s in the war were in the much-publicized chemical-based attacks on unarmed Kurdish civilians in Northern Iraq. The conflict between the two Arab nations also saw the Mi-24 engage enemy aircraft including the recorded downing of an American-made Bell AH-1 Cobra and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II operated by the Iranians. Iraqi Mi-25s were put to use once again in the 1990 Iraqi invasion of neighboring Kuwait, sparking the 1991 Persian Gulf War which resulted in a stellar Iraqi military defeat. Into the 1990s, the Hind garnered an increasing reputation through the Croatian War of Independence, the Chechnya Wars and other world-wide conflicts. In the latter part of the decade they also saw operations in the Kosovo War.

To a much more modern extent, the Mi-24 has continued strong use of force in both the Afghanistan invasion of 2001 and Iraqi invasion of 2003 following the events of 9/11. Polish Mi-24 mounts have been used in support of coalition forces and even delivered six of its own Hinds to the Afghan military. In the 2008 South Ossetia War, both the Russians and Georgians fielded their own Mi-24 systems - the Russians inevitably holding the advantage in the lop-sided conflict. The 2011 Arab uprising in Libya has seen Libyan leader Gaddafi utilize his powerful Hinds against rebel forces. Several are known to have been lost in the ensuing figting.