However, the U.S. Marine Corps suddenly offered to buy Mi-24 gunship helicopters, which made the Russian side suddenly more vigilant. The
Mi24 was produced by the Mir Moscow Helicopter Factory in 1972. It is mainly positioned as a large helicopter for ground attack and carrying a small number of soldiers. It was initially used by the Soviet Air Force and has been successfully exported to more than 30 countries.
This machine is very big and has a high degree of recognition. What's interesting is that the prototype and early models of the Mi 24 adopt a three-person organization, with the driver, gunner and engineer, only two of them in the middle and late stages.
has a crew cabin in its belly, which can carry 8 fully armed soldiers or 4 stretchers. A machine gun is fixed on the nose, the most common is the YAK-B 12.7 mm Gatling heavy machine gun, and later the fixed GSh-30-2K machine gun and the rotatable GSh-23L machine gun.
In terms of weapon mounting, the Mi-24 is called the "weightlifting champion". Its obviously larger short wings have six external mounting points, which can mount 1500kg auxiliary fuel tank, rocket nest, 500kg and 250kg aerial bombs, and At least four 9K114 "Storm" high-speed anti-tank missiles.
These rich armaments made Mi-24 become a battlefield all-rounder and guerrilla nemesis, and its performance in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was remarkable.
The latest model of the aircraft is currently called Mi-35, also known as Hind E. The electronic equipment and engine have been updated, the flight control system has been optimized, and it has been exported to many countries and regions.
Perhaps because of this, the US military hopes to fully understand and master the characteristics and defects of the aircraft so that it can be suppressed in possible battles.
According to Russian sources, the US MAWTS-1, the first teaching team of the US Marine Corps, has issued plans to purchase Mi-24, Mi-17 and Russian-made An-2 aircraft, which have been approved by the US Department of Defense. The mission of the teaching team is to provide standardized advanced tactical training and unit instructor qualification certification to support naval aviation training and preparation, and to provide assistance in the development and use of aviation weapons and tactics. To put it bluntly, it is to let the rookies get familiar with and master related aviation equipment as soon as possible, which includes both their own equipment and opponents.
So this also means that the US military still regards Russia as its biggest military opponent, otherwise it would not think of requesting the purchase of Russian armed helicopter systems.
The Russians speculate that the Americans actually want to crack the weaknesses of the Mi-24 and find the most effective way to restrain it. Therefore, it is unlikely that the United States will purchase these equipment from Russia, and no matter how poor the fighting nation is, it will not trade such things.
Then the possible channels for the US military are Africa, Eastern Europe, and India, which use Russian-made helicopters.
Among them, India is the most likely. Why do you say that? It is because India has purchased dozens of AH-64 Apache gunships from the United States. Although the price is ridiculously high, it is, in all fairness, better than gross goods. Moreover, the Indian Army has a lot of Mi-17 helicopters. In order to return the US to recognize it, not to mention that the US military paid for it, but gave it to the US military for nothing. It is estimated that Modi is very willing. In addition, Africa and some Eastern European countries have Russian-made rice 24/35 gunships. If the US military really wants to buy it, there should be no problem. So looking at it this way, this business is not as good as Russia’s own business. Anyway, the Mi 24 is also a product that is facing elimination. What the Russian army wants most is the Mi-28 "Havoc", which happens to be sold for more money. The new Mi-28.
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