Mi-24 HIND
Mi-25 HIND D
Mi-35 HIND E

Mil Mi-24 is a twin-engined combat helicopter intended for close support of ground forces, destruction of armored targets and transportation of persons or cargo. The Mi-24 is not a direct counterpart to the American AH-64 Apache, since unlike this and other Western attack helicopters it is also capable of transporting up to eight troops. As a combination gunship and troop transport, the Hind combat helicopter has no direct NATO counterpart.

The combat helicopter is a flying infantry fighting vehicle, which blends features of both transport and attack helicopters. Soviet pilots called the aircraft 'letayushiy tank' or flying tank. Another common nickname is 'Krokodil' (Crocodile) - due to the helicopter's camouflage and fuselage shape and "Drinking Glass", (Stakan) because of the flat glass plates that surround the Mi-24's cockpit.

A characteristic feature of the Mi-24 is a load cabin connected with the flight-deck, which is 2.83 m long, 1.46 m wide and 1.2 m high. It is capable of accommodating up to armed 8 troops; they can fire from their small arms fixed in mountings on side windows which can be opened. The cabin is accessible by a vertically opening clamshell door on each side of the fuselage.

The appearance in the skies of the Mi-24 prototype and especially its subsequent series-produced variants aroused a large amount of interest on the part of the world aviation press. Based on conversations with specialists, especially military, who were invited as observers to various exercises and maneuvers of Warsaw Pact forces, foreign journals published quite a bit of material about this Soviet helicopter and photographs of it. This heightened interest in the Mi-24 is natural, since its creation was indeed a new step in world helicopter building, particularly military helicopter building.

The Mi-24 was the first helicopter to enter service with the Russian Air Force as an assault transport and gunship. Additional missions include direct air support, antitank, armed escort, and air to air combat. The helicopter was used extensively in the Afghanistan War, becoming the "signature" weapon of the conflict. The Russians have deployed significant numbers of HINDs in Europe and have exported the HIND to many third world countries.

The Mi-24/25 is primarily an attack helicopter, but may also be outfitted for other missions. As a transport it can carry up to eight passengers. In the transport/cargo role it can not only carry internal loads but is capable of external sling loads up to 3,000 pounds. In the air ambulance role, the Mi-24/25 can carry four stretchers and one attendant. The Mi-24/25 cockpit areas and cargo/passenger areas are sealed, environmentally controlled, over pressurized with the airflow chemically/biologically filtered. The aircraft may be equipped with additional internal fuel tanks to extend the range/endurance of the Hind.

The HIND is never employed individually -- always in sections of two and where possible in flights of six. The HIND has been used for air to air training. The Russians use balloons as air to air targets for the HIND. Unlike fixed wing aircraft the HIND lives in the helicopter flight environment and can maintain firing parameters on other helicopters for much longer periods of time than the fixed wing. Clutter from terrain flight background or flares will usually distract portable ground fired SAM-7 missiles and the STRAGGER cannot track a target moving much faster than a tank. However, a transport helicopter with a HIND on its tail is a "dead duck."

One of the special features of the Mi-24 is its speed. It was and still remains to this day the fastest combat helicopter. In 1978, a similar helicopter, given the designation A-10, set the absolute, officially recorded world speed record for "clean" helicopters - 368.4 km/h. Such high speed qualities have been achieved thanks to good aerodynamics, in particular, by using retracting landing gear.

Russia sent Pakistan a draft contract on the delivery of four Mil Mi-35M (NATO reporting name: Hind E) combat helicopters, a source in the Russian system of military and technical cooperation said on 17 June 2015. "Following the results of the talks held earlier on helicopters, which Pakistan would like to get from Russia, a draft contract on the delivery of four Mi-35M gunships has been sent to the Pakistani side. Pakistan is now studying the document," the source said.

Russia�s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport told TASS that talks were under way with the Pakistani side on the delivery of helicopters. Rosoboronexport declined to disclose the details of these consultations.

Russia�s Rostec hi-tech corporation CEO Sergey Chemezov said in 2014 Russia had lifted its embargo on the delivery of armaments and military hardware to Pakistan and was holding negotiations on the delivery of helicopters to that country. Russia�s Foreign Ministry later said the sides were negotiating the delivery of a batch of Mi-35 helicopters. Pakistan currently has several Mi-17 helicopters transferred by the United States as assistance in the fight against militants.

HIND - Nomenclature

Hind, the female of the red-deer, usually taken as being three years old and over, the male being known as a " hart. It is sometimes also applied to the female of other species of deer. The word appears in several Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch and Ger. Hinde, and has been connected with the Goth. hin]'an (hinthan), to seize, which may be connected ultimately with "hand" and "hunt." "Hart," from the O.E. heort, may be in origin connected with the root of Gr. icpas, horn. "Hind" (O.E. hine, probably from the O.E. hinan, members of a family or household), meaning a servant, especially a labourer on a farm, is another word. In Scotland the " hind " is a farm servant, with a cottage on the farm, and duties and responsibilities that make him superior to the rest of the labourers. Similarly " hind " is used in certain parts of northern England as equivalent to " bailiff."