In the late 1960s, Soviet designers set out to merge two battlefield needs into a single aircraft: a heavily armed attack helicopter and a troop transport. Drawing on the Mi-8 transport, the Mil bureau created a new machine with two turboshaft engines, a five-bladed rotor, and stub wings that added lift and carried weapons. This design, the Mi-24, made its debut with the Soviet Air Force in 1972.The Hind’s early variants featured a stepped greenhouse cockpit, later replaced by a tandem “double bubble” canopy. The crew sat in an armored tub with bullet-resistant glass, and even the titanium rotor blades could withstand heavy machine-gun fire. Retractable landing gear, a streamlined fuselage, and asymmetrical tail surfaces gave it high speed for its size, while its stub wings carried rockets, missiles, or gun pods depending on the mission. Unlike Western helicopters, it could also carry eight troops inside, earning its reputation as a “flying tank.”During the 1970s, modified airframes pushed speed records, with one stripped-down Mi-24—designated A-10—setting a world helicopter speed record of 368 km/h in 1978, a mark that stood for nearly a decade. By the 1980s, Hinds became iconic in the Soviet–Afghan War, combining troop deployment with heavy close air support in mountainous terrain. Western helicopters such as the UH-1 Huey or later Black Hawk could be gunships or transports, but not both at once; in contrast, the Hind was built to do both simultaneously.Through its service, the Mi-24 was continually modernized. The Mi-25 and Mi-35 export versions spread widely abroad, while upgrades like the Mi-35M added advanced optics, night-attack systems, and improved survivability. South African and other firms developed further modernized “Super Hind” variants. Even decades after its introduction, the helicopter remained in service with dozens of countries, a testament to its unique mix of speed, firepower, and transport capacity.From its origins as a hybrid of gunship and transport, the Mi-24 stood apart from NATO counterparts and shaped Soviet and later Russian doctrine. It became one of the most recognizable helicopters of the Cold War, serving not only as a combat aircraft but also as a symbol of Soviet air power abroad.

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Mil Mi-24