The Strange 4,500 HP Monster Built to Take Any Hit



The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 has just brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict. Amid this grim atmosphere, aerospace engineer Mikhail Mil riffles through discarded blueprints for experimental war aircraft. American advancements in battlefield technology are rapidly outpacing those of the Soviet Union. To protect his homeland and maintain military superiority, he envisions a revolutionary new weapon: an airborne infantry fighting vehicle that defies all conventional design principles.

His prototype helicopter can transport eight fully armed troops while doubling as a mighty gunship. Its 4,500 horsepower engines propel it to 200 miles per hour, while titanium rotor blades shrug off .50 caliber rounds. Even pilots are impressed with the unprecedented capabilities of the worldā€™s first ā€œFlying tank.ā€ It had everything, and to them: (QUOTE) ā€œā€¦our helicopter also had a soul.ā€

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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.

As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.

All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please donā€™t hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

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27 thoughts on “The Strange 4,500 HP Monster Built to Take Any Hit”

  1. Something about this aircraft is incredibly aesthetically pleasing to me. I'm not sure what it is; I tend to prefer sharp, angular designs similar to the Mangusta (also loved the Comanche concept) and this is going in the exact opposite direction. It just works though. Definitely my favorite military helicopter in the looks department, and in some ways my favorite technically as well.

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  2. There are (some) three privately owned Hind helicopters in america that are both on flying status and also remarkably well maintained.

    It really is something to see aircraft in a pattern at an airport, and to see a Hind helicopter behind another aircraft

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  3. A mediocre machine designed to do it all but cannot do anything well. bad build quality and weak engines. Afgan war showed its bad high altitude capabilities. War in Ukraine showed its helpless against any AAA and even FPV drones. So meh. Its place is in a museum.

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  4. These were named MI-35 Akbar for the Indian air force. My uncle used to fly these back in the day. We lived on an army base in the Himalayan mountains, he was based futhur north on an air force base. We always knew he was visiting cause we heard em coming. This chopper was every bit as impressive/menacing upclose.

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  5. Mi-24 "Hind" will always be a badass machine and have a special place in my heart even when the Russians have a newer, more deadly, unique and safe helicopter like the Ka-52 "Alligator"! (which also have a special place in my heart hehe)

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  6. I have a friend who was in the South African Defence Force on the border with Angola. He was in an anti-aircraft battalion on the lookout for MI-24s piloted by Russian trained Cubans. He said these helicopters were the most terrifying things he'd ever seen. In his words "it's a f*cking flying tank!"

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