In May 1968, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution that provided for the development of a promising model of a rotary-wing attack aircraft based on the Mi-24 helicopter, which has a higher flight speed, good stability and maneuverability. By the end of 1968, the first project of the Mi–28 rotorcraft was completed in the Department of Advanced design of the M.L. Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant (MVZ, now the M.L. Mil and N.I. Kamov National Helicopter Building Center), which represented the further development of the Mi-24 without an amphibious cargo cabin, but with rigid main rotor, additional propulsive means and reinforced armament.
In 1980, the commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on military-industrial issues decided to build two experimental models of the Mi-28, without waiting for the official approval of the final layout.
The first sample of the Mi-28, assembled in July 1982, was refined to the required level in the process of fine-tuning and flight tests.
The construction of the third flight copy of the Mi-28, the design of which took into account all the comments of the customer and the changes made to the experimental samples as they were refined, the pilot production of the MVZ named after M.L. Mil began in 1985 (in 1987, the modernized helicopter was named Mi-28A).
By 1986, during comparative tests of the first flight model of the Mi-28, all the specified flight characteristics were confirmed, and in some parameters even exceeded.
In 1987, after installing an X-shaped tail rotor on the first flight model, the appearance and configuration of the combat helicopter were finally determined.
In the same year, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued a resolution on the completion of tests on the Mi-28 and the start of serial production at the Rostov Helicopter Plant (now Rostvertol PJSC).
The further improvement program of the helicopter provided for the creation of a modernized Mi-28A day helicopter at the first stage, and then its "night" version of the Mi-28N, capable of conducting combat operations in difficult weather conditions at any time of the day.
The Mi-28 two-seat combat helicopter was built according to the classical single-rotor scheme and was designed to search and destroy armored vehicles, enemy manpower in open and rough terrain, as well as low-speed aerial targets with visual visibility in simple and limited weather conditions.
The fuselage of the Mi-28 included the nose and center parts, as well as the tail and keel beams. In the bow there were two separate armored compartments of the crew cabin, which housed the navigator-operator's seat in front, and the pilot's seat behind and above.
To increase the combat survivability of the helicopter and the survival of the crew, the cabin armor protection was provided, which included a set of ceramic tiles glued to the frame of the forward fuselage. In addition, silicate armored glass played a protective role. The pilot and navigator were separated by an armored fence. The navigator's door was on the left side, and the pilot's was on the right. Doors and windows were equipped with emergency reset mechanisms. During the emergency exit of the cabins, special ladders were inflated under the doors, protecting the crew from hitting the chassis.
The Mi-28 fuel system was made in the form of two independent symmetrical power systems for each engine with automatic cross-feeding and pumping. It consisted of three tanks (two consumable for each engine and one common), located in a container of fuel tanks, the walls of which were protected with foam rubber.
The helicopter's equipment also included a pneumatic system, an air conditioning system and oxygen equipment.
A set of instrumentation was installed on the Mi-28 helicopter, which made it possible to pilot the helicopter and solve air navigation tasks at any time of the day and in any meteorological conditions.
The armament of the Mi-28 consisted of a non-removable movable gun mount NPPU-28 with a powerful 30 mm caliber 2A42 cannon developed by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau and a removable armament system suspended from the beam holders of the wing pylons. Like most combat helicopters in the world, the Mi-28 was equipped with a cannon that rotated at large angles, which allowed firing from various types of weapons simultaneously at two targets located at different azimuths (the cannon is similar to the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle mounted on the Ground Forces). The peculiarity of the NPP-28 was the simplicity and reliability of the supply of shells to the gun.
In terms of security characteristics, the Mi-28 helicopter has no equal in the world helicopter industry. The crew cabin is made of aluminum sheets, on which ceramic tiles are glued. The cabin doors have two layers of aluminum armor and a layer of polyurethane between them. The cabin windshields are transparent silicate blocks 42 mm thick, and the side windows and door panes are made of the same blocks, but 22 mm thick. The pilot's cabin is separated from the operator's cabin by an aluminum armor plate, which minimizes the defeat of both crew members with one shot.
Flight technical characteristics of the helicopter:
Crew – two people;
The capacity of the evacuation compartment is 2-3 people;
Engine type – TVZ-117VM;
Engine power – 2x1950 horsepower;
The diameter of the main rotor is 17.2 meters;
The weight of an empty helicopter is 7,900 kilograms;
The normal take–off weight is 10,200 kilograms;
The maximum take–off weight is 11,200 kilograms;
The mass of the combat load is 2,300 kilograms;
The maximum flight speed is 300 kilometers per hour;
The practical flight range is 435 kilometers;
The flight range is 1100 kilometers.
Modifications of the Mi-28 helicopter
The Mi-28A differed from the first experimental models by upgraded TVZ-117VMA high-altitude engines with a capacity of 2225 horsepower each, improved instrumentation, modified design of ejector exhaust devices and a modified main gearbox.
The Mi-28N "Night Hunter" is a night helicopter based on the Mi-28A with a VR-29 main gearbox instead of the VR-28. The first prototype was rolled out of the assembly shop on August 16, 1996, and on November 14, 1996, the helicopter took off for the first time. In 2008, the State Commission, based on the results of state tests, recommended that the Mi-28N combat helicopter be adopted by the Russian Defense Ministry and put it into serial production. The Mi-28N is produced by Rostvertol PJSC.
Mi-28NM – modernization of the Mi-28N. The standard installation of the N025 type overhead radar, a duplicated control system, is complemented by the ability to control the UAV. On July 29, 2016, the Mi-28NM made its first flight.
The Mi-28NE is an export modification of the Mi-28N helicopter.
Mi-28UB – Mi-28N with dual controls; a special helicopter with a dual control set, which can be used for training in piloting the Mi-28N, while retaining all the functionality of an attack helicopter.
The material is prepared on the basis of information from open sources
