The Soviet Mi-24 was a testament to the Soviet preference for brute force and power over finesse or whiz-bang technological wizardry. These flying beasts were killers.
At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union developed one of the most iconic helicopter gunships in history.
The Mil Mi-24 was designed to do one thing, and do it exceptionally well: destroy NATO tank formations when World War III erupted in Europe. Designated “Hind” by NATO, the Soviet Mi-24 was a testament to the Soviet preference for brute force and power over finesse or whiz-bang technological wizardry. These flying beasts were killers.
Blessedly, the world never got to see the Hind helicopters blasting NATO tanks in Central Europe. Instead, these birds were used to terrorize Afghan villagers in the failed Soviet-Afghan War that defined the 1980s.
How the Hind Was Developed
The Mi-24 Hind was developed by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was first flown in 1969. At the time, it was a revolutionary design that blended the roles of attack helicopter and troop transport. The birds could carry eight fully equipped soldiers, in addition to its onboard arsenal.
And the armament of these birds was impressive. The Hind possessed a 12.7mm Yak-B Gatling gun (later variants, such as the Mi-24P, possessed a 30mm cannon), unguided rockets, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs), like the 9M17 Phalanga. And it could drop bombs.
The Gunship’s Specifications
The Hind’s heavy armor could withstand small arms fire and even shrapnel, earning its nickname among Soviet forces as the “flying tank.” Indeed, one Discovery Channel documentary on the Mi-24 Hind asserted that this helo was the “strongest armored helicopter in the world.”
Hind pilots, much like the U.S. Air Force’s A-10 Warthog, are surrounded by a thick titanium ‘bathtub’ cockpit that is built to withstand point blank hits from 37mm anti-aircraft shells! In fact, the windows themselves on these choppers are bulletproof—protecting the pilots from bullets as large as those fired by .50-caliber machines guns, adding yet another layer of protection for those onboard.
But where it possessed impressive firepower and carrying capacity, the Mi-24 lacked maneuverability. Once these hornet-like helicopters were deployed to Afghanistan, they became the icon of the Soviet war there (much as the UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” helicopter was emblematic of the American intervention in the Vietnam War).
“Satan’s Chariot”
When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, the Mi-24 Hind was among the first assets deployed. Its mission was to support ground forces, conduct reconnaissance, and strike suspected Mujahideen positions. Just as with the U.S. military’s experience fighting North Vietnamese insurgents in the harsh jungles of Indochina, the Soviet forces learned that the tough Afghan terrain of mountains, valleys, and deserts posed such unique challenges to conventional forces—and helicopters, like the Mi-24, soon became essential for their missions.
Indeed, the Mujahideen came to call Mi-24 Hind “Satan’s Chariot,” because of the destruction and fear it would impose upon the Mujahideen fighters.
Even Americans who fought against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., do not understand the profound role that Mi-24 Hind helicopters provided for the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. During the Panjshir Valley offensives, for example, Hinds would pound insurgent compounds with rockets and ATGMs—all while providing support and escorting convoys of friendly troops.
What’s more, the legend of the Soviet Union’s elite Spetsnaz operators in Afghanistan are still told today among those who know the history of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. These were the best skilled troops from all over the Soviet Union. The Soviets would load them on Mi-24 Hinds, fly them to the mountains where insurgents were believed to be, and deploy them, where they would charge up the mountain, slaughtering anything that moved.
The Hind’s Achilles Heel: Stinger Missiles
In many long wars, the weapons and tactics that defined the first phase of the conflict rarely see through to the end of that war. Such was the case with the Mi-24 Hind helicopter. The bird’s hulking profile, low-flying mission set, and its lack of maneuverability in combat made it susceptible to ambushes in narrow valleys, where insurgents would fire from elevated positions.
Then, in 1986, came the introduction—courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency—of the Swiss-made FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles.
A Stinger’s heat-seeking missile was able to target the Mi-24’s exhaust and took down the once-mighty Soviet helicopters with wanton abandon. Estimates suggest that the Soviets lost over 300 helicopters, many of them belonging to the Mi-24 family, during the war. In response, Hind pilots would operate at higher altitudes, but this reduced its effectiveness as a support system because its unguided rockets and its powerful guns needed to be at lower altitudes for accuracy.
The Soviets tried to adapt by installing certain countermeasures specifically meant to end the Stinger threat. Things like infrared jammers and flare systems were installed on these helos. The adaptations failed, and the Soviets soon sharply curtailed their use of the gunships.
The Stinger had successfully nullified the air dominance that the Hinds had granted to the Soviets in the early part of the war. Many historians argue that the loss of the Mi-24 Hind as a viable platform in the Soviet-Afghan War led to the collapse of the Soviet military’s position in Afghanistan and the inevitable withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a Senior Fellow at the Center for the National Interest, and a contributor at Popular Mechanics, consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
