Mil Mi-24 is a twin-engined combat helicopter its meant for close support of ground forces, destruction of armored targets and transportation of persons or cargo. The Mi-24 isn't a direct counterpart to the US AH-64 Apache, since unlike this and different Western attack helicopters it's also capable of transporting up to eight troops. As a mix gunship and troop transport, the Hind combat helicopter has no direct NATO counterpart.The helicopter has six suspension weapon units on the wingtips. The Mi24D (Mi-25) and the Mi-24V (Mi-35) are equipped with a YakB four-barrelled, 12.7mm, built-in, flexibly mounted machine gun, which has a firing rate of 4,000-4,500 rounds a minute and a muzzle velocity of 860m/s. The Mi-24P is fitted with a 30mm, built-in, fixed gun mount; the Mi-24VP with a 23mm, built-in, flexibly mounted gun.
The Mi-24P and Mi-24V have four underwing pylons for up to 12 anti-tank missiles. The Mi-24V (Mi-35) is armed with the Shturm anti-tank guided missile system. Shturm (Nato designation AT-6 Spiral) is a short-range missile with semi-automatic radio command guidance. The 5.4kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead is capable of penetrating up to 650mm of armour. Maximum range is 5km.
The helicopter is powered by two Isotov TV3-117VMA turboshaft engines, developing 2,200shp each. The air intakes are fitted with deflectors and separators to stop dust particle ingestion when taking off from unprepared sites. An auxiliary power unit is fitted.
