Mi-24/35 Gunships to Remain Popular On Global Arms Market

TASS Defense ^ | August 29, 2016

[sukhoi-30mki]

MOSCOW --- The Mi-24/35 (NATO reporting name: Hind) family of gunships developed by the Mil design bureau (now a subsidiary of the Russian Helicopters holding) will remain in high demand on the global arms market in the years to come, according to a source in Russia’s defense industry.

"The Mi-24/Mi-35M combat rotor-wing aircraft are very reliable, easy-to-maintain, and inexpensive. The gunships are supposed to have the best cost-effectiveness ration in their class. The acquisition of Mi-24 and Mi-35M helos seems to be the cheapest way to improve the land attack and close air support (CAS) capabilities of a military force. They can eliminate targets in both snow deserts and tropical forests.

Even the upgrade of the Mil gunships is relatively inexpensive, as the Russian defense industry offers a huge number of enhancements. For instance, Israel and South Africa have developed their own programs to increase the situational awareness and firepower of Mi-24/35 combat helicopters. Hence, the gunships will remain in high demand on the global market, in particular, by financially constrained countries," the source said.

The latest upgrade of Mi-35P [export designation of the Mi-24P gunship; P stands for Pushechny, Gun-Armed] combat helicopter has been announced by Senegal. The Air Force of the African country decided to equip its Mi-35Ps with the DSP-HD optical/infrared cameras developed by the Israeli Controp Precision Technologies company. In 2007, Senegal received two excess Mi-35P gunships supplied by Russia.

According to the Military Balance 2016 report issued by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), there are several hundred operational Mi-24/35 helicopters in the world.

-- Bulgaria operates 6 Mi-24V/D,

-- Cyprus 11 Mi-35P,

-- the Czech Republic 7 Mi-24V and 10 Mi-35,

-- Hungary 3 Mi-24D, 6 Mi-24V, and 2 Mi-24P,

-- Macedonia 4 Mi-24V,

-- Poland 28 Mi-24V/D,

-- Serbia 2 Mi-24,

-- Armenia 7 Mi-24P,

-- Azerbaijan 31 Mi-24 (including a batch of Super Hinds) and 24 Mi-35M,

-- Belarus 4 Mi-24,

-- Georgia 6 Mi-24,

-- Kazakhstan 20 Mi-24V (some upgraded),

-- Kyrgyzstan 2 Mi-24,

-- Russia over 250 Mi-24V/D/P and Mi-35M,

-- Tajikistan 4 Mi-24,

-- Turkmenistan 10 Mi-24,

-- Uzbekistan 29 Mi-24,

-- Afghanistan 11 Mi-35,

-- India 19 Mi-24/35,

-- Indonesia 6 Mi-35P,

-- Myanmar 12 Mi-35P,

-- Sri Lanka 6 Mi-24P, 3 Mi-24V, and 2 Mi-35V,

-- Vietnam 26 Mi-24,

-- Algeria 31 Mi-24,

-- Iraq 16 Mi-35M,

-- Libya 3 Mi-24/35,

-- Syria 24 Mi-25,

-- Brazil 12 Mi-35M,

-- Cuba 4 Mi-35,

-- Peru 16 Mi-25 and 2 Mi-35P,

-- Venezuela 10 Mi-35M2,

-- Angola 22 Mi-24 and 22 Mi-35,

-- Burkina Faso 2 Mi-35,

-- Burundi 2 Mi-24,

-- Chad 3 Mi-24V,

-- Democratic Republic of Congo 4 Mi-24 and 5 Mi-24V,

-- Equatorial Guinea 5 Mi-24V/P,

-- Ethiopia 15 Mi-24 and 3 Mi-35,

-- Guinea 4 Mi-24,

-- Mali 2 Mi-24D,

-- Namibia 2 Mi-25,

-- Nigeria 2 Mi-24P, 4 Mi-24V, 3 Mi-35, and 2 Mi-35P,

-- Rwanda 2 Mi-24V and 3 Mi-24P,

-- Senegal 2 Mi-35P,

-- Sudan 25 Mi-24, 2 Mi-24P, 7 Mi-24V, and 6 Mi-35P, and

-- Zimbabwe 4 Mi-35 and 2 Mi-35P.

It should be noted that the early variants of Mi-24 armed with the 12.7 mm YaKB aircraft machinegun [namely, Mi-24V and Mi-24D] are being replaced by the gun-armed modifications [Mi-24P, Mi-35, and Mi-35M].

The Russian Helicopters holding is actively promoting the Mi-35M gunship as the most suitable option to replace ageing Mi-24 helicopters. According to the official data provided by the Rostvertol company (a subsidiary of the Russian Helicopters; the manufacturer of Mi-35M helicopters), the Mi-35M combat rotor-wing aircraft has a normal take-off weight (NTOW) of 10,900 kg, a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 11,500 kg, a payload of 2,400 kg, an empty helicopter weight of 8,354 kg, a maximum speed of 300 km/h, a cruise speed of 240 km/h, a service ceiling of 3,150 m, a dynamic ceiling of 5,400 m, an operational range of 550 km, and a crew of 2 pilots.

Mi-35M is armed with a GSh-23L twin cannon. The helicopter can fire 9M120 Ataka (Spiral-2) anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), Strela-B short-range air-to-air missiles (AAM), and S-8 unguided rockets.

However, Russia’s Armed Forces are intensively phasing out ageing Mi-24 and Mi-35 gunships out of service. "Despite being a valuable combat asset, Mi-24 and Mi-35 gunships are rapidly ageing. They are suitable for counter-terroristic actions, not for full-scale conflict with high-contested areas.

Russia’s Armed Forces are receiving Mi-28N 'Night Hunter' (Havoc-B) and Ka-52 'Alligator' (Hokum-B) well-armoured combat helicopters in order to fill the gap in CAS capability. Moreover, Mi-28Ns are supposed to be fully replaced by state-of-the-art Mi-28NMs (M stands for Upgraded, Modernizirovanny) by the 2020s. Nevertheless, Mi-24P gunships have been serving as the Army Aviation’s workhorses in the Syrian conflict," the source said.

-ends-

[sukhoi-30mki]

Brazilian Mi-35M

[RayChuang88]

Mostly because 1) it’s cheap to buy and 2) it can double as a troop carrier with up to 10 armed troops capacity.

[Red Badger]

"The Mi-24/Mi-35M combat rotor-wing aircraft are very reliable, easy-to-maintain, and inexpensive.

That's the ticket to sales...............We should try it...........

[PLMerite]

“Mostly because 1) it’s cheap to buy and 2) it can double as a troop carrier with up to 10 armed troops capacity.”

Yeah, it can shoot its own way into a landing zone.

[mad_as_he$$]

Terrifying weapon system. Very effective.

[RayChuang88]

You can see the reminders of the old Soviet “tank rider” combat philosophy from World War II with the Mi-24/35 model.

[PLMerite]

“You can see the reminders of the old Soviet “tank rider” combat philosophy from World War II with the Mi-24/35 model.”

They used to call them “Desantniki,” the same term they now use for Airborne troops.