(Baghdad) In Oct 2012, Iraq signed a deal with Russia to furnish it with 30 Mi-28NE helicopters. Today, Moscow delivered part of that sale aboard a Antonov An-124 Condor transport aircraft. The gifts (Well, paid for) it brought were:
Three Mi-28NE helicopters
Four new Mi-35M helicopters
So, the Mi-28NE, what is it? It is a Russian all-weather, day-night, military tandem, two-seat anti-armour attack helicopter. In other words, it's the Russian version of the AH-64 D/E Apache Helicopter. The NE stands for Night Hunter, don't ask why, it just does. I'm a little confused by how Janes Defence (The first link) states that this is the first delivery, yet there is ample evidence which shows that the first delivery was in Jan of this year. Anyway, while the Iraqi Government has been very vocal about the lack of its own air assets, it appears that actually the Iraqis have lots and have been flying their gunships 24/7 in which to target ISIS convoys who have to traverse long desert roads in which to get anywhere. Here is one such video.
The second helicopter brought along is the Mi-35. Basically it's the old flying battleship the Mi-24 in new clothes, but it is better known as the Hind. It's a kite the entire third world knows how to handle, never mind Iraq, so they will be put into service straight away:
Three Mi-28NE helicopters
Four new Mi-35M helicopters
So, the Mi-28NE, what is it? It is a Russian all-weather, day-night, military tandem, two-seat anti-armour attack helicopter. In other words, it's the Russian version of the AH-64 D/E Apache Helicopter. The NE stands for Night Hunter, don't ask why, it just does. I'm a little confused by how Janes Defence (The first link) states that this is the first delivery, yet there is ample evidence which shows that the first delivery was in Jan of this year. Anyway, while the Iraqi Government has been very vocal about the lack of its own air assets, it appears that actually the Iraqis have lots and have been flying their gunships 24/7 in which to target ISIS convoys who have to traverse long desert roads in which to get anywhere. Here is one such video.
The second helicopter brought along is the Mi-35. Basically it's the old flying battleship the Mi-24 in new clothes, but it is better known as the Hind. It's a kite the entire third world knows how to handle, never mind Iraq, so they will be put into service straight away:
