Vietnam to Improve Russian Helicopter Equipped with U.S. Rocket

The improvement in order to meet the requirements for helicopters Mi-24 weapons crackdown on the remnants of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia,

Mi-24 attack helicopter developed by the Soviet Union and put into use in the early 1970s. This is the helicopter gunships "one of a kind" has been equipped with heavy duty weapons fire support to the ground, destroy armored tanks, and, military passenger compartment contain up to 8 soldiers.

The late 1970s, Soviet aid a small number of Mi-24 attack helicopters for the Vietnam People's Air Force. In 1980, the Air Vietnam Air Force squadron officially established the first Mi-24 helicopters of the 916th Regiment.

The Mi-24 that you aid to Vietnam under the Mi-24A variant - the first generation of the helicopter. Mi-24A compared to the Mi-24D and the modern variant the main difference is in the type of cabin.

Mi-24A cockpit 3 with control arms in front of officers, pilots and navigators in parallel in the back seat. Variations Mi-24 or later to use style cockpit "double bubble" with the arms in front of officers and pilots behind.

Body thick armored Mi-24A aircraft can withstand the force of impact from the bullets of 12.7 mm. Mi-24A equipped with two turbine engines Isotov axis TV3-117 allows a top speed of 335km / h, range 450km, ceiling 4.500m.

Weapons, Mi-24 mounted 12.7 mm machine guns in the nose and 4 rocket launchers clusters (8-16 tubes) with 4 anti-tank guided missiles, AT-2 on three pylons located in the 2 small wings body.Mi-24A fleet Vietnam People's Air Force during a trip sorties mopping up the remnants of the Khmer Rouge. 

In the years used Mi-24A and assist our troops fire mopping up the remnants of the Khmer Rouge (*). Aeronautical engineer officers in Vietnam, there are small improvements to U.S. rocket bullet style helicopter Russia serves battlefield.

As the number of rocket fire U.S. military aid to South Vietnam so much, we can leverage to bring the means to fight the Soviet Union (Russia).

But, to solve this problem is not simple, because the rockets of the Soviet Union against the United States is not the same size, can not arbitrarily put American rocket bullet cluster Soviet rocket launchers. If used rocket launchers cluster America, bottom to hook into the bracket on the Mi-24 does not fit. Moreover this launch pad clusters can not be used more than once.

Under these circumstances, the young staff weapons Vietnamese airlines have found a special plan to put American rocket to equip helicopter Mi-24.

"We take rocket tubes of reconnaissance aircraft U-17 is used to fire rockets smoke goals. Then, we use two belt bundled into a cluster (8-16 tubes), on a long-term appropriate size hook to hook into bracket helicopters Mi-24, to ensure balance.

With this, secured a U.S. rocket launch on a Russian helicopter, can be reused many times, "Colonel Nguyen Kim Khoi-air weapons officer (Air Defense Air Force) directly involved improvement in the work to American-made rockets to shoot on Mi-24 helicopter of the Soviet Union shared.

The process of testing the use of cluster homemade catapult was a great success and make sure all the technical requirements involved combat.