Happy anniversary, our dear "Crocodile"!
As an epigraph to this article, I want to take the words of my former neighbor, who has already left us, artillery lieutenant colonel Nikolai Semenovich Savinov. We often talked with him like a neighbor, and one day we started talking about music.
“Yes… nonsense (approximate translation) your music. And ours. That's when you sit for five hours on the road under the pressure of dushmans who have closed you on both sides and are pressing you, and suddenly a rumbling with a whistle, and then this “shmurg” from the NARs, and you didn’t have time to close your ears and half-deafened screaming with delight, damn knows that, because in the mountains, from where they hit you, explosions swell - this is the coolest music.
Comrade lieutenant colonel, who had the Order of the Red Banner for Afghanistan and the medal "For Courage", plus for his African tricks "October Revolution" (I wrote about how and for what this party order was awarded to our military), he knew and understood a lot about life. And if for him our today's hero remained the best music in his memory, I don't dare to dispute it.
So, Mi-24.
According to the world classification, he seems to be forever second. The world's second specialized attack helicopter (after the AN-1 Cobra), the second largest production after the AN-64 Apache. But in our circles, he is the first and moreover, who is still respected and loved for many reasons, the first of which is OUR helicopter. Quite weighty, by the way.
Let's start our review with the already distant 60s of the last century. It was in those years that progress rushed by leaps and bounds and the concepts that appeared during the Second World War began to slowly go into history. New types of weapons and new principles of their use have appeared.
The fact that Mikhail Leontyevich Mil was able to implement the concept of a "flying infantry fighting vehicle", that is, a helicopter capable of not only transporting a squad of soldiers along with weapons, but also to provide fire support to this squad - it just says that Mil was an outstanding brilliant designer.
In general, at that time there was no helicopter that met such requirements (transfer of a squad of soldiers and fire support) in the Soviet troops. The Mi-2 turned out to be clearly unsuccessful, the Mi-4 was outdated and retired, the Mi-22, due to its size and weight, did not meet the requirements of the task.
We needed a new project.
By the way, it is worth noting that the Americans could not cross the “snake and hedgehog” and therefore to this day they use pairs of specialized helicopters. At first it was the transport UH-1 Iroquois and the strike AN-1 Cobra, and then they were replaced by the UH-60 Black Hawk and AN-64 Apache.
But in those days, the famous Sikorsky company exhibited its S-67 project, which was a kind of analogue of the Mi-24, but the army did not want to break established traditions and abandoned the S-67.
Mi-24A
First flight: 1969
The Mil Design Bureau had accumulated considerable experience in building armed helicopters, and the Design Bureau very quickly prepared two technical proposals. The first is for a seven-ton helicopter with one TVZ-117 engine, and the second is for a helicopter weighing 10,5 tons with two of the same engines. The Kamov Design Bureau also took part in the competition, offering a land-based version of its Ka-25.
The military liked Mil’s car more, but the armament categorically did not suit and Mil was asked to replace the GSh-23 cannon with a heavy machine gun, and the real-life ATGMs for the Shturm complex, which was just being developed with semi-automatic targeting. "Storm" required the replacement of the sighting system, the installation of a laser rangefinder, stabilized sights for the pilot and operator. Plus, the question arose about installing a defense complex on a helicopter.
In general, the car of the future really turned out. In project.
As always, when it was really necessary, Soviet designers demonstrated the ability to work at a very fast pace. In the summer of 1969, the first copy of the helicopter was assembled. The decision was made simply masterpiece, they decided to unify the new machine as much as possible with the Mi-8 and Mi-14, worked out and tested helicopters.
Of course, there were also differences. The main rotor blades were made shorter, the wing, which served not only for the suspension of weapons, but also created up to 25% of the lift. An interesting solution was the inclination of the main rotor shaft by 2,5 degrees from the vertical to the right. This was done to compensate for the thrust of the tail rotor when hovering or side-slip, which, according to the designers, provided greater accuracy when firing from a stationary weapon.
The cockpit was made very original (she received the nickname "veranda"): the gunner-operator sat in front, and behind him, above and shifted to the left, the pilot was placed.
The control was general, that is, the operator who controlled the machine-gun installation, aimed rockets and dropped bombs, had a backup control set, and the operator could take control in the event of a pilot failure. In turn, the pilot could launch missiles and fire a machine gun if he was in a fixed central position.
The side armor plates of the cab protected the crew, the windshield was bulletproof, the armor had a pilot's seat. Engine hoods were also armored. In addition, the crew were given helmets and body armor as additional protection.
The landing cabin was equipped in the middle part of the vehicle and, together with the crew cabin, formed a sealed compartment, equipped with air conditioners and a slight overpressure. This would be useful when flying over areas contaminated after a nuclear explosion. The landing cabin was equipped with a cargo boom with an electric winch with a lifting capacity of 1500 kg. Thus, the helicopter could be used to transport various cargoes, including the evacuation of the wounded.
The chassis was made retractable, into compartments that were closed with doors.
The TVZ-117 engine was at that time one of the best in the world and was in no way inferior to American and European ones. Takeoff power 2200 hp, nominal 1700 hp If one of the engines failed, the second automatically switched to takeoff mode. The fuel supply in five sealed tanks was 2125 liters.
Another interesting point: the Mi-24 was built as a helicopter much earlier than its weapons kit. Both the Shturm and the rapid-fire heavy machine gun were not ready. Therefore, to test the combat qualities of the helicopter, the Falanga-M ATGM with a manual guidance system and the NUV-1 machine gun mount with the A-12,7 machine gun were installed.
On September 19, 1969, the Mi-24 made the first takeoff and hover. State tests began in June 1970 and lasted a year and a half. The tests were carried out very actively and generally confirmed the calculated data.
In the version of a combat helicopter, with and without weapons, the Mi-24, with a normal takeoff weight of 11 tons, had a maximum speed of 320 km/h and a cruising speed of 270 km/h, and in a transport one 340 km/h and 280 km/h, respectively.
But due to delays in armament, the first 250 helicopters, called the Mi-24A, went to the troops with the Falanga-M complexes and the A-12,7 machine gun. They entered the troops under the name Mi-24A. A number of helicopters were released as training Mi-24U. These machines differed from the Mi-24A by the absence of a machine gun and the installation of a full-fledged flight and navigation system and a standard control kit instead.
During the construction of the first series of the Mi-24A, the Mi-24B was sent for testing, which differed from its predecessor in the USPU-24 machine gun mount with the YaKB-12,7 rapid-fire machine gun.
The installation was remotely controlled using the KPS-53AV sighting system, the Yakushev-Borzov machine gun fired up to 4500 rounds per minute, an analog computer was included in the small arms control system and an upgraded Falanga-P ATGM complex with the Raduga-F guidance system was installed . All this increased the accuracy of hitting targets three times, but the helicopter was rejected. The experience of operating the Mi-24A in parts revealed a very significant drawback: a completely unsatisfactory view from the pilot's seat
The Mil Design Bureau responded by creating a completely new nose section by early 1971, where the pilot and operator were located one behind the other at different levels in isolated armored cabins.
A change was also made to the design "by popular demand" of the pilots in the form of a rearrangement of the tail rotor from the left side to the right. The screw turned from a pusher to a pull one, its thrust increased, despite the fact that the losses from blowing the beam with the screw also increased.
This is how the familiar look of the Mi-24 was formed.
The crews noted good handling and maneuverability, impressive aerobatic qualities. It was not without drawbacks, engines with a small resource and poor visibility caused criticism. It turned out, for example, that when flying at night at low altitude, the flat windshields of the cockpits reflected lights on the ground, which worsened visibility and even led to a loss of spatial orientation.
The innovative retractable landing gear also caused a lot of problems. Okay, the pilots used to the Mi-8 or Mi-4 forgot to put it away after takeoff, it was much worse when they forgot to release it before landing!
Another serious drawback was the lack of full control from the operator. In the event of a pilot failure, only very competent pilots could land the helicopter from the operator's seat.
The frankly outdated weapons control system from the Mi-4 was especially criticized. The ATGM hit accuracy did not exceed 30%.
Nevertheless, the helicopter went to the troops and moreover, they began to actively promote it for export, eventually delivering it to 21 countries. And for 20 years, "Crocodile" took part in three dozen local conflicts around the world.
The Mi-24 received its baptism of fire during the Ethiopian-Somali war in 1978. The debut was a success: since the opposing side (Somalia) did not have sensible air defense, the Mi-24, in the cockpits of which Cuban pilots trained in the USSR were sitting, created outright chaos on the battlefields. Having defeated the Somalis, the Ethiopians immediately turned to a civil war, in which about four dozen Mi-24As took a direct part. Helicopters were used until 1991, when Ethiopia split into Eritrea and Ethiopia.
In 1979, the Mi-24A was part of the armament of the Afghan army. With their help, the Afghan army fought the Mujahideen. The use was very effective, since the Mujahideen had practically no air defense, although there were losses. The leadership of Afghanistan urged the USSR to send more helicopters, but the next deliveries occurred only when the Soviet army brought its contingent into the country.
In the same 1979, with the help of the Mi-24A, the Libyan army restored order in Chad, where there was a civil war between the Libyan group of G. Oueddey and the regime of H. Habré.
Thus began the long combat path of the Mi-24, which lasted for more than one decade.
LTH Mi-24A
The diameter of the rotor, m: 17,30
Tail rotor diameter, m: 3,91
Length, m: 21,50
Wingspan, m: 6,66
Rotating propeller area, sq.m: 235,00
Weight, kg
- empty: 7 675
- normal takeoff: 10 500
- maximum take-off: 11 000
Engine: 2 x TVAD "Klimov" TV3-117 x 2200 hp
Maximum speed, km/h: 320
Cruising speed, km / h: 270
Ferry range, km: 1
Practical range, km: 450
Practical ceiling, m: 4 950
Static ceiling, m: 1
Crew, prs: 3
Payload: up to 8 soldiers, or 4 stretchers with the wounded, or 1500 kg of cargo (maximum 2400 kg) or 2000 kg on an external sling.
Armament:
- one 12,7 mm A-12,7 machine gun (900 rounds)
Combat load - up to 1 kg on 275 hardpoints:
- 4 x ATGM 9M17M Falanga-M;
- 4 x UB-32A-24 (128 NAR S-5M1, S-5MO, S-5KBP, S-5KO and S-5-O);
- 8 x OFAB-100, 4 x OFAB-250, 4 x RBC-250, 2 x RBC-500, 2 x KMGU-2, 2 x ODAB-500, 2 x ZB-500
Mi-24D
First flight: 1972
This is a full-fledged work on the bugs based on the results of the combat use of the Mi-24A. The cabin is separate from the Mi-24B, the new anti-tank complex "Shturm-V". The helicopter was given the name Mi-24V, but alas, it did not go into the series due to the fact that the fine-tuning of the Shturm-V complex dragged on to indecent.
Therefore, it was decided to produce a helicopter with a new cabin from the Mi-24B, but with a set of weapons from the Mi-24A. They called the car Mi-24D and in 1973 began its mass production. And as a bonus, the helicopter also received an anti-icing system, which was tested with great success in the same 1972.
In total, from 1973 to 1977, about 350 Mi-24D helicopters were built.
Mi-24P
First flight: 1974
It was a very interesting experiment to increase the shooting power of a helicopter. The originally ordered YaKB-12,7 machine gun was good for unarmored vehicles and manpower, but the power of a 12,7-mm bullet was no longer enough to fight armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. Of course, everything depended on who, at what angle and from what distance it was necessary to shoot, but it became clear that a more solid caliber and armor-piercing projectile were needed to destroy light armored vehicles.
In 1974, the Mil Design Bureau began to work on this issue and, it should be noted, worked out in a very peculiar way, installing a Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30K or GSh-30-2 gun on the helicopter. It was a very powerful and reliable weapon with an amazing rate of fire up to 3000 rounds per minute. The only drawback of this gun was its weight and size.
Naturally, there was no question of placing a double-barreled gun on a mobile mount from a 12,7-mm machine gun. This was not allowed to do both weight, and dimensions, and recoil when firing. Therefore, it was decided to install the GSh-30K as on the Su-25 attack aircraft - motionless, and firing was assigned not to the operator, but to the pilot, who could point the gun with the entire body of the helicopter. The trigger was brought to the pilot's control stick.
In addition, it was necessary to lengthen the barrels and equip them with special nozzles that brought the muzzle wave beyond the dimensions of the helicopter.
The placement of such a monster and fine-tuning took five whole years, but in April 1981 the Mi-24P was put into production.
In general, the actual use of the GSh-30K showed its some redundancy. To defeat the main majority of targets from the "nomenclature" of the Mi-24, a lighter gun with a caliber of 30 mm would be enough.
However, the Mi-24P worked out their tasks in Afghanistan and during both Chechen campaigns. Under the brand name Mi-35P, the helicopter was also exported.
Mi-24BM
First flight: 1999
An attempt to modernize an old helicopter to meet the changing requirements of today. It is worth noting that the attempt was very serious: fiberglass blades for both propellers, a new set of weapons, on-board equipment that provides round-the-clock use.
The size of the wing was reduced, the span was reduced to an external pylon, but this did not affect the number of missiles carried: all the same 16 missiles, but more advanced Ataka ATGMs. SOEP-1V "Lipa" was replaced by the protection station "Mak-UFM". The Lipa protected the Mi-24 from air-to-air missiles with infrared seeker, and the Mak was designed to work against MANPADS missiles with the same heads. Therefore, a new protection station was placed on the lower surface of the tail boom, since the main sector for the appearance of MANPADS missiles is from below-rear.
The GSh-30K cannon or the YaKB-12,7 machine gun was replaced with the GSh-23 cannon mounted on the NPPU-23 mount, which provided the gun barrel mobility of -60/+60 degrees in elevation and +10/-40 degrees in azimuth.
In order to operate at any time of the day, the helicopter received a new optical-electronic sighting and surveillance system, night vision goggles for the crew and a thermal imaging sight.
The landing gear was made non-retractable. Yes, the retracted landing gear gave an increase in speed by 10 km / h and reduced fuel consumption, but if the landing gear was not extended during landing, in the event of a breakdown or forgetfulness of the crew, the helicopter really failed for a long time. Plus, the fixed landing gear saved 120 kg of weight.
The radio equipment of the combat system has also undergone changes. The Shturm and Raduga-Sh complexes were replaced by the Tor-24 complex for targeting Ataka missiles, equipped with a laser rangefinder and a computer center BVK-24. The new electronics allowed the Mi-24 crew to use 9M39 Igla-V air-to-air missiles.
Naturally, in parallel with the combat modification of the vehicle, there was a transport vehicle capable of carrying 8 troops and 1500 kg of related cargo, an ambulance, which made it possible to take out two lying wounded on a stretcher and two seated, accompanied by a medical worker. The ambulance helicopter was equipped with oxygen equipment and an operational resuscitation unit. In total, the Mil Design Bureau developed five variants of the Mi-24VM helicopter.
LTH Mi-24VM
The diameter of the rotor, m: 17,20
Tail rotor diameter, m: 3,84
Length, m: 18,57
Height, m: 4,39
Wingspan, m: 4,77
Weight, kg
- empty: 8 050
- normal takeoff: 10 900
- maximum take-off: 11 500
Engine: 2 x gas turbine engine "Klimov" TV3-117VMA x 2 hp
Maximum speed, km/h: 312
Cruising speed, km / h: 260
Ferry range, km: 1
Fighting range, km: 415
Practical ceiling, m: 5 700
Static ceiling, m: 3
Crew, prs: 3
Payload: up to 8 soldiers or 4 stretchers or 1500 kg of cargo (maximum - 2400 kg) or 2000 kg on an external sling
Armament:
- 23-mm double-barreled gun GSh-23L in the NPPU-24 mount (no 250 rounds)
combat load - 804 kg on 6 suspension nodes:
- 16 x ATGM 9M120 "Ataka-V", 2 x 9M39 "Igla-V", 4 x B-8V20A (80 NAR S-8DM, S-8BM, S-8VM, S-8KOM, S-8S), 4 x B-13L1 (20 NAR S-13, S-13T, S-13-0F), 4xS-24, 2 x GUV-1, 4 x GUV-8700, UPK-23-250, 8 x OFAB-100, 4 x OFAB-250, 4 x RBC-250, 2 x RBC-500, 2 x KMGU-2, 2 x ODAB-500, 2 x ZB-500
Mi-24PK(VK)
First flight: 2000
It was created in parallel with the Mi-24VM as an export version for those countries that needed to replace the outdated Mi-24 of the previous series with something more modern. Also had the designation Mi-35PN or Mi-35VN.
The main difference was the sighting and sighting system OPS-24N, which provides round-the-clock detection and recognition of ground and surface targets, determination of the distance to the target using a laser rangefinder, guidance of guided anti-tank missiles of the Shturm or Ataka complex, aiming when using small arms and cannon mobile and fixed weapons, as well as unguided missiles.
The OPS-24N included the gyro-stabilized optoelectronic system GOES-342. A recognizable ball on a stabilized turret in the nose of the helicopter at the site where the Raduga-Sh ATGM control system was previously located.
GOES-342 four-channel, processes data from television and IR channels, IR direction finder, laser rangefinder. Provides a circular view mode and in combat mode pointing angles of +/-60 degrees, in azimuth -15/+45 degrees. Information is displayed on the multifunctional screens of the pilot and operator.
In addition, a novelty is the flight and navigation complex KNEI-24, which significantly expanded the capabilities of the helicopter. KNEI-24 calculates the position of the helicopter using satellite data or by navigation points stored in the system's memory.
The Mi-24VK-2 guided weapon system allows the crew to navigate the terrain using images that are transmitted to the MFI screens from a 10-hour television camera. The capabilities of the camera provide recognition of a tank-type target during the day from a distance of up to 4 km, at night at least 6-XNUMX km.
The crews of Mi-24VK-2 helicopters have the ability to carry out night flights using GEO-ONV-1 night vision goggles, which allow detecting and recognizing obstacles such as power transmission line masts, communication line poles, forest boundaries, individual trees and cars against the background of a grassy surface on range of at least 0,5 km.
Helicopters Mi-24VK-2 (Mi-35VN) and Mi-24PK-2 (Mi-35PN) today are indeed a very promising solution for those countries that are accustomed to Mil technology and do not have the opportunity to purchase more technically modern machines. These upgrades fully meet modern requirements in terms of equipment and can remain relevant for decades, especially in those countries where progress is a conditional matter.
Mi-24PN
First flight: 2002
The helicopter, which is the last word of the Mil Design Bureau in terms of upgrading the Mi-24 platform, was baptized by fire in the second Chechen campaign.
A very interesting solution in terms of the "efficiency - cost" indicator. Here is not only the opportunity to extend the life of the machine, as such, but also to increase the efficiency of their service. The main thing is to ensure the round-the-clock and all-weather use of military vehicles through thermal imaging systems.
The modification of the Mi-24PN is based on the retrofitting of the old, but well-proven Raduga-Sh surveillance and sighting system with the Zaryevo thermal imaging sighting subsystem, developed on the basis of the Nocturne thermal imager. "Rainbow-Sh" has been in service for more than 25 years and there are no complaints about it, optical channels are fully consistent with modern requirements. But the technical vision channels needed to be improved.
As a result, everything resulted in the installation, in addition to the main daytime system of the OPS 9S475, of the thermal imaging sighting system TPP-9S475N with a thermal imaging direction finder, a laser rangefinder and an interface unit with the OPS 9S475.
The armament remained practically unchanged, with the exception of the artillery unit. The Mi-24PN was equipped with a 9-A-623K double-barreled gun of 30-mm caliber with 250 rounds of ammunition. The gun was mounted on a fixed installation NPU-30.
In general, the Mi-24 in the Mi-24PN version is quite relevant on any battlefield, whether it is combined arms combat on land, counter-terrorist activities, or search and destruction, for example, of landing craft.
In the Russian army Mi-24PN since 2004. The number of helicopters accepted by the army is still small and does not exceed three dozen. However, against the backdrop of the new Mi-28N and Ka-52, this is already an achievement. The cost of upgrading the Mi-24P to the Mi-24PN fluctuates around 70 million rubles, but according to the manufacturers, the helicopter will serve freely for at least another 10 years. In addition, according to the calculations of gunsmiths, the effectiveness of the Mi-24PN in comparison with the Mi-24P is at least 50% higher.
LTH Mi-24PN
The diameter of the main screw, m: 17,30
Tail rotor diameter, m: 3,91
Length, m: 17,51
Height, m: 3,90
Wingspan, m: 4,77
Weight, kg:
- empty: 8 570
- normal takeoff: 11 300
maximum takeoff: 11 800
Engine: 2 x TVAD "Klimov" TV3-117V x 2 225 hp
Maximum speed, km/h: 320
Cruising speed, km / h: 270
Ferry range, km: 1
Fighting range, km: 450
Practical ceiling, m: 4 500
Static ceiling, m: 2
Crew, prs: 3
Payload: up to 8 soldiers or 4 stretchers or 1500 kg of cargo (maximum - 2400 kg) or 2000 kg on an external sling
Armament:
- one 30 mm gun GSh-30K (250 rounds)
- 16 x ATGM 9M120 "Ataka-V", 4 x ATGM 9M114K "Shturm-V", 4 x UB-32A-24 (128 NAR S-5M1, S-5MO, S-5KBP, S-5KO and S-5 -O), 4 x B-8V20A (80 NAR S-8DM, S-8BM, S-8VM, S-8KOM, S-8S), 4 x B-13L1 (20 NAR S-13, S-13T, S -13-0F), 4 x S-24, GSh-30K, 2 x GUV-1, 4 x GUV-8700, UPK-23-250, 8 x OFAB-100, 4 x OFAB-250, 4 x RBC- 250, 2 x RBC-500, 2 x KMGU-2, 2 x ODAB-500, 2 x ZB-500.
Mi-24 in modifications participated in more than 30 armed conflicts. The most famous ones can be distinguished:
- Ethiopian-Somali war (1977-1978) - the first case of combat use;
- Chadian-Libyan conflict (1978-1987);
- Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988);
- Second civil war in Sudan (1983-2002);
- Karabakh conflict (1988-1994);
- The first Chechen war (1994-1996);
- Second Chechen war (1999-2000);
- Iraqi war (2003-2010);
- Civil war in Syria (since 2011);
- Armed conflict in Ukraine and NWO in Ukraine.
Today, the helicopter is in service with 57 countries around the world.
In general, the career is more than impressive. For us, first of all, the Crocodile is an integral symbol of participation in the civil war in Afghanistan, where the helicopter did its job very effectively. The fact that the helicopter fought all over the world only does it credit, because indeed, the price / quality ratio of the Mi-24 is more than remarkable.
As for today, despite the presence of completely new models of attack helicopters, the Mi-24 is relevant in all forms, since it meets its main task: to deliver troops to the place and provide them with fire support. And the fact that the helicopter copes well with the task laid down in it, testifies, first of all, that the Mil Design Bureau knew how to make combat vehicles. And they still can.
Happy anniversary to both the helicopter and Mil Design Bureau, which created this impressive combat vehicle! 50 years in the ranks is a lot.
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