We Are The Mighty: Russia's "Flying Tank"
The Russian-made Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter is affectionately called the “flying tank” for its ability to take hits and keep flying. The nickname is also an homage to the World War II-era Soviet Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft, which was equally hard to knock out of the sky.
Its fuselage is surrounded by thick armor plates capable of taking .50 cal rounds from all angles. The cockpit sits on a titanium tub—much like the A-10 Thunderbolt‘s design—and protected by bullet-proof windshields.
Its flexible design allows the helicopter to perform fire support and infantry transport missions. Depending on the variant, the flying tank is armed with an incredible arsenal, including:
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WNU editor: Nasty helicopter.
2 comments:
The Soviets lost alot of its predecessors in Afghanistan to the point they could not use them anymore. The Russians have lost a number in Syria to ground fire. Much like the Apache, those "flying tanks" were also shown to be vulnerable to ground fire. In all of these cases the opponents were less than sophisticated. Armor is great to defend against small arms fire, but not a total defense. These aircrafts are very vulnerable to shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, regardless of evasion technology. Speed, evasion and countermeasures are now more effective then armor for helicopters.
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