The Venetian Arsenal: Mi

There's something primeval and perhaps genetic about us fearing something huge and horrible swooping in from the sky. From myths of dragon and griffons we get a real world scary monster. The "Hind" helicopter. Make no mistake, this is a scary beast.

Look at that thing. It's not here to drop off lollipops. It's an aggressive looking machine of death. It carries 8 troops and has hard points for rocket pods, anti-tank missiles and cannons. It can secure an area with its firepower, drop off a Spetsnaz team and then hang around to offer fire support. Also, the Russians nicknamed it the "flying tank" because it's heavily armored and can withstand direct hits from a .50 cal.
During the 60's the Russians started looking into this whole helicopter thing. They developed a few prototypes and eventually settled on the Hind. "Hind" is a NATO designation btw. The Soviets, being good communists, shared the Hind with all their satellite and puppet countries. Many of those countries still use the Hind. While in Iraq I saw a Romanian Hind. The Romanians, one of our largest allies of the coalition used a great deal of commie equipment. They'd land their Hind at our base and all the Americans would swarm it, drool over it and of course, take pictures with it. The pilot wore aviator sunglasses and new he was the rockstar when he pulled up with a Hind as his ride.

I love the eyes painted on it.
Now, aside from being heavily armored and armed, it's also freaking fast. Surprisingly, those little wings provide 40% of the lift when it's going fast. The Hind held the speed record for helicopters for a long time and it's female helicopter records still stand. Because Russia is cool enough to realize that chicks kick butt too.
So, fast, lots of weapons, lots of armor and carries troops. In a word: Friggin' Awesome! (Okay, that was two.)

Sure, it looks and sounds tough, but how successful was it in combat? Let's look at a list of wars this bird's fought in.
Russian - Afghanistan war
Iraq - Iran war
Ogaden War
Cambodian Vietnamese War
Chadian - Libyan Conflict
Nicaraguan Civil War
Sri Lankan Civil War
Persian Gulf War
Croatian War of Independence
Wars in Chechnya
and on and on and on all the way up to the Iraq and Afghanistan War.
Like all helicopters, it suffers in dry, dusty areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. During the Russian invasion of Afghanistan the Mujahadeen learned to move around at night during the day time because they were afraid of the Hind's and called them "Satan's chariots." That's an awesome nickname to earn from your enemies.
They usually did not carry troops in Afghan and mainly provided air support with the armored doors removed for greater speed, range and maneuverability.
Many countries will continue to use the Hind for many years to come. But, the South Africans are starting to upgrade their Hinds with advanced optics, Forward Looking Infrared, advanced avionics, heat exhaust filters digital glass and a duel fed 20mm cannon.
Here' a pic of the advanced version.