The evolution of the "Crocodile with a propeller"
The combat effectiveness of the Russian army aviation, repeatedly demonstrated during the special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as a rule, does not require confirmation. But especially vivid emotions are caused by the actions of a veteran of Afghanistan, Transnistria, Abkhazia, Chechnya, Georgia and Syria – the Mi-24 attack helicopter, nicknamed "Crocodile". On September 19, 1969, German Alferov, a test pilot of the Mil Design Bureau, lifted into the air a prototype of a serial Mi-24A transport and combat helicopter - an experienced B–24. However, we will not talk about him. The crazy popularity combined with the mass of unsurpassed flight technical and operational characteristics was the reason for the creation of the Phoenix, a new Mi-35P combat vehicle with the appearance of the legendary Crocodile.
In battles, he has known the joy of victories
The Mi-24, whose serial production started in 1971, should be positioned as a unique machine. Few people know that it became the first helicopter in the USSR (and the second in the world), the functional purpose of which was initially defined as the solution of purely combat tasks. The only aerial victory of a helicopter over a fighter aircraft in the history of aviation is on the account of the Mi-24. Even this fact alone makes it possible to position it as an exceptional combat vehicle. However, his achievements are not limited to this. "Crocodile" owns several world achievements.
"The Mi-35P Phoenix has retained the high-speed characteristics inherent in the "world record holder" Mi-24, allowing it to destroy enemy manpower and area targets with a high degree of efficiency, which is especially in demand when conducting combat operations in conditions where heavy armored vehicles cannot be used."
In August 1975, he set two records for the rate of climb: the ceiling of three thousand meters was reached in 154 seconds, and the Mi-24 rose to a height of six thousand meters in 511 seconds. Three years later, Hero of the Soviet Union Gurgen Karapetyan set an absolute speed record of 368.4 kilometers per hour. The female crew of the Mi-24 under the command of Galina Rastorgueva in 1992 made an ultra-long intercontinental flight from Moscow to Miami with a length of twenty thousand kilometers.
Thanks to its excellent design, the Mi-24 attack helicopter has been mass-produced for more than fifty years (with a break in 1989-1999) and despite the high level of technical perfection, it has a good modernization potential. The Crocodile has become not only one of the most massive attack helicopters operated by the Air Forces of more than sixty countries around the world. It still arouses the keenest interest among many Russian partners in the field of military-technical cooperation.
In 2006, serial production of a deeply upgraded version of the Mi-24 – Mi-35M (Mi-24VM) began. First in the export version, and after 2010 and in the interests of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
In 2017, specialists were presented with fundamentally new versions of the Mi-24P-1M and Mi-24P-2M attack helicopters, created under the Phoenix program and which became a continuation of the unrealized developments of the Mi-24VP-M project.
Starting in 2019, serial production of these machines started, samples of which the manufacturer demonstrated at the international aviation and space salon MAKS-2019. Export versions of the newest helicopters received the Mi-35P-1M and Mi-35P-2M indexes, respectively. And now about our "hero" in more detail, but since the information about his real characteristics is classified as "Secret", in order to avoid confusion, we will focus on the version of the Mi-35P Phoenix.
"Udarnik" works day and night
The Mi-35P's appearance practically does not differ from any of the Mi-24 family rotorcraft. Minimal changes have been made to the power structure and armor protection of the fuselage, which have been proven reliable for decades. All the modernization efforts of the developer were aimed at its "stuffing– - electronic equipment and systems that provide a radical expansion of the combat potential.
The Mi-35P received an observation and sighting station (OPS-24N-1L) equipped with a third-generation long-wave matrix thermal imager, which, in combination with a laser rangefinder, a high-resolution color television camera and night vision goggles, provides the helicopter crew with the ability to conduct combat operations in the dark as a whole and defeat targets at ranges up to 10 kilometers per hour. in particular. This by and large makes the Mi-35P a full-fledged "night hunter" to help the Mi-28MN.
Photo: livejournal.com
As an element of passive protection, the booking of the cabin, including bullet-resistant glazing, should be considered. And the possibility of additional equipment of the Mi-35P with an active protection complex, in the role of which a laser station acts, locating the moment of launch of an air-to-air missile, disorienting its GOS and, as a result, taking the means of destruction away from the helicopter, greatly enhances the survivability of the machine.
The task of minimizing the thermal visibility of the new Russian helicopter was solved with the help of a screen-exhaust device (EVU), which reduces the temperature of gases coming out of the helicopter's power unit and thereby complicates the operation of missiles with thermal guidance heads. The aluminum rotor blades of the Mi-35P have a conductive heating thread, which is an effective means of protection against icing. And filling their internal cavities with nitrogen provides reliable visual control of the integrity of this most important structural element of the helicopter. It is noteworthy that the replacement of the blades can be done "piece by piece", which significantly reduces the time of repair and restoration work in case of damage.
Features of the front-line "station wagon"
vpk-news.ru
The breadth of range and variety of functionality of the new Russian Mi-35P helicopter is another reason for the pride of its developers. No army in the world has a helicopter in service that organically combines the potential of an attack helicopter, the purpose of which is to destroy tanks, armored vehicles and enemy manpower, with the ability to transport troops, seriously wounded or cargo weighing up to one and a half tons. By the way, when using an external suspension, the load capacity of the Mi-35P increases to 2.4 tons.
The Mi-35P Phoenix has fully preserved the speed characteristics inherent in the "world record holder" Mi-24, allowing it to destroy enemy manpower and area targets with a high degree of efficiency, which is especially in demand when conducting combat operations in conditions where heavy armored vehicles cannot be used. Not the least role in this was played by the retractable landing gear, which radically distinguishes the Phoenix from the Mi-35M. Obviously, high flight speeds combined with the ability to operate in high altitude and high temperatures make the Mi-35P an ideal helicopter for use where the combat capabilities of such assault vehicles as the Ka-52 "Alligator" and the Mi-28NM "Night Hunter" are redundant.
Another important distinguishing feature of the Phoenix from the brothers of the Mi-24 family is the crew of three people: the commander, located in the upper cabin, the operator in the lower cabin and the flight technician in the cargo cabin, who has access to the commander. It is noteworthy that the control of the machine is available from both the upper and lower cab. And modern avionics provides the crew with a fairly accurate exit to the target in automatic mode.
The Mi-35P is equipped with the new KNEI-24E-1, a digital aerobatic complex based on the PKV-8-35 autopilot, which increases the stability and improves the controllability of the combat vehicle, as well as the improved PrVK-24-2 sighting and computing complex, which provides a significant increase in the accuracy of hitting targets. In the near future, the Phoenix will be equipped with the latest on-board defense complex, located in the underwing nacelles and characterized by a high level of efficiency. In general, the design of the Mi-35P guarantees it an increase in combat survivability, low acoustic visibility, as well as minimizing labor and time costs for maintenance.
Phoenix's firepower
The Mi-35P artillery armament is represented by the NPPU-23 with the GSH-23L cannon and 450 rounds of ammunition. On six external suspension nodes, the helicopter is capable of carrying 2,400 kilograms of combat load, including almost all types of aviation weapons. The composition of the missile armament used by the newest Russian helicopter, depending on the nature of the task, includes:
two PU UB-20-8 with twenty unguided missiles S-8, four NAR S-24 "Buran", four PU UB-32-57 with thirty-two NUR S-5, four PU NAR S-13 "Tulumbas" or two PU UB-20-57 with twenty NUR S-5;
four Ataka ATGM launchers (9M120-1) with a two-channel control system and anti-tank guided missiles with a tandem cumulative warhead;
four ATGM "Whirlwind-M" launchers with 9M127-1 missiles;
Sagittarius air-to-air missile system with Igla and Igla-S guided missiles;
universal gun container UPK-23-250 with GSH-23L cannon and 250 rounds of ammunition;
1,500 kilograms of small-caliber aviation bombs, including napalm, cluster and smoke bombs;
the director of the PFM-1 mines at KSMU-2.
Variants of the weapons complex installed on the newest Mi-35P Phoenix attack helicopter are formed based on the preferences of the customer.
The Mi-35P Phoenix is a harmonious combination of the latest achievements of the domestic helicopter industry with many years of (and very successful) experience in the combat use of the Mi-24. As a result, the army aviation of the VKS of the Russian Federation received a powerful, reliably protected and high-speed machine with the widest functionality and excellent export prospects.
Vitaly the Viscount
The newspaper "Military-Industrial Courier", published in issue No. 11 (924) for March 29, 2022
