Alexander Mladenov describes the genesis birth and introduction into service of the

Russian Air Force's new generation attack helicopter, the Mil Mi-28N Night Hunter
ROTARY RUSSIAN

R
USSIA'S MIL Mi-28N Night Hunter,
optimised for both day and night attack, is
portrayed by its makers as being endowed with
war-fighting capabilities much greater than those
of its predecessors, the 19605 vintage Mi-24 -
which it is scheduled to replace - and its direct
predecessor, the Mi-28A from the 19805. The
Russian Air Force's (RuAF) new rotary-wing
attack platform is designed to provide good
survivability on the battlefield. more than
adequate firepower and precise aiming and
ta geting capablht aR."
In April 2009. after almost three decades
of development and testing, the first RuAF,
Army Aviation Branch combat unit, the 487th
Independent Helicopter Regiment (IRH) stationed
in the southern city of Budyonnovsk, not far from
the disputed territory of the North Caucasus,
took delivery of its initial batch of four Mi-28Ns.
Some 15 months earlier, on January 23, 2008, the
first two Night Hunters destined for the RuAF
were handed over to the Ministry of Defence
and RuAF representatives in a ceremony at the
{lostvertol helicopter plant in Rostov on Don
These two helicopters were destined for field
testing and evaluation at the RuAF helicopter
rotary-wing combat employment and training
centre at Torzhok air base's 344th Army Aviation
Conversion Training and Combat Employment
Centre. By early May 2009, no fewer than 17
Night Hunters were reported to have rolled
off the assembly line at Rostvertol and it was
publicly announced by Russian helicopter
industry officials that by 2009-2011, the Mi-28N
would be ntroduced into sefVlce with two RuAF
helicopter regimen each of hlCh -w Id t ke
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on strength one fully-equipped attack squadron
comprising 18 aircraft. By 2015, no fewer than
67 Mi-28Ns are planned to be on RuAF strength,
at a procurement rate of 10 units a year. In the
long term, Night Hunter numbers may reach as
many as 300 but this depends, of course, upon
the availability of funds post 2012. Observers
of the Mi-28N's progress over the years may be
surprised at the success of the Night Hunter after
its troubled past.
Night Hunter - 30 Year in the Making
The rivalry between the Mil and Kamov
design houses over the development of a new
generation of attack helicopter to replace the
omnipresent Mi-24 dates back to the late 1970s.
It was expected that one of two competing ..
'The new generation attack
helicopter was viewed as
Russia's response to the
Boeing AH-64D Longbow
Apache. '
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W,W;) y (;(J,l 99
Russian Rotary Night Hunter

In October 2008 Maj Gen Viktor Ivane

the RuAF's Army Aviation Department Chi
mentioned in the Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Stc
newspaper, the official publication for the Russi.
armed forces, that the first four Mi-28Ns takl
on strength by the RuAF were being used at tI
Torzhok test centre in field evaluation trials wi
regard to the integration of the avionics suite ar
defensive aids sub-system (DASS). It is notewortl
that all Night Hunters taken on strength by tl
RuAF lack the mast-mounted radar as well as son
DASS components although the helicopters a
said to have provision for installation of the'
systems in the future. It was hinted that deliveril
of Mi-28N's fully equipped with the mast-mounte
radar, DASS and helmet-mounted targetin
system, (the so-called Stage Two), wer.e schedule
to commence when development of thos
systems was complete, most likely somewher
between 2012 and 2015. Other planned upgradE
were rumoured to be planned to introduc
significant changes to the mission avionics suit
as well as integrating new targeting systems.
has been hinted that new weapons are planne(
including the Khrizantema ATGM featuring a
active millimetric radar seeker designed for a
weather operation. Another derivative, with tWI
controls to be used for conversion training, is als-
believed to be in development.
Mission Avionics Outfit
The Mi-28N introduced an all-digital
integrated avionics suite with night-vision ane
all-weather capability. Instead of the
instrumentation found in the cockpits of bott
the Mi-24 and Mi-28A, the Mi-28N boasts NVG
friendly cockpits outfitted with a total of six LCe
multifunctional displays (three in each cockpit
providing flight and navigation information
airframe/engine system data, weapon
status and targeting information.
The OPS-28 Tor electro-optical sensor is the
primary clear-weather targeting sensor
integrating a three-channel sensor package m
a common gyro-stabilised rotating platform
Its design layout follows the classic gunship
configuration - a two-man crew in tandem
cockpits. The gunner sits in the front cockpit and
the pilotlcommander sits behind, on an elevated
seat; in contrast to the Mi-24, only the pilot of
the Mi-28N has flight controls and there is no
meaningful facility to carry passengers except
in emergencies; its design features sufficient
free space inside the avionics compartment to
squeeze in two or three people for recovery
of crews of other downed helicopters on the
battlefield. The helicopter is prOVided with a
five-blade main rotor and low-noise X-shaped tail
rotor. In the early manifestations of the type, a
three-bladed design was used.
The first development Mi-28N, vehicle OP-1,
serial '014') was built by Mil in its experimental
plant at Panki near Moscow between 1994
and 1995 and took to the air for the first time
in November 1996, with its avionics suite still
incomplete. The second Mi-28N development
aircraft (vehicle OP-2, which wears the serial '02')
flew for the first time on March 25, 2004. The first
of three initial production Mi-28Ns ordered by
the Russian MoD (vehicle 01-01 which wears the
serial '32') made its first flight on 25 January 2005,
while the defence budget for the follOWing year
allocated funding for construction of as many as
seven further Night Hunters.
In March 2006, the Mi-28N's joint testing team
commenced the type's test and evaluation
programme at the RuAF's base in Torzhok and by
April 2007 as many as five Mi-28Ns were engaged
in the process including two development
vehicles - OP-1 and OP-2 - plus three pre-
production examples. In August 2007, two more
pre-production examples joined the trials and
the next month the Russian MoD finally approved
commencement of full-rate production at
Rostvertol. In June 2009 Mil sources announced
that 12 Night Hunters had been delivered to
the RuAF, and in 2009 alone 10 helicopters were
produced at Rostvertol; the total number of
Mi-28Ns to be delivered under the existing State
Order should reach 47 units by 2012.
280 JULY 2011
'M'M'AlRfORCE.SMONT.....y,COM 100
designs would be the Soviet response to
America's McDonnell Douglas AH-64A Apache.
Both new designs, known as the Mi-28A and
KaSO, made their maiden flights in 1982 and
underwent protracted and rigorous comparative
trials in 19851986. Eventually, the single-seat,
co-axial rotor Ka-50 emerged as the winner
of the competition and was approved for
mass production by the Soviet government in
December 1987.
Although the Mil Design Bureau had lost the
first round of the competition, it continued with
development efforts, albeit at a slower pace. In
the early 19905, it launched a new and much
more sophisticated day/night-capable derivative
of the Mi-28A as a company-funded effort. In the
event, the decision to go ahead was shown to be
wise since procurement of the day-only capable
Ka-50 has failed to continue as expected. In the
first part of the new millennium, the Russian MoD
outlined its requirements for a new generation
of day/night-capable attack helicopters to equip
its Army Aviation Branch which had become part
of the RuAF on January 1, 2003. This time the
new generation attack helicopter was viewed as
Russia's response to the Boeing AH-64D longbow
Apache.
On this occasion head-to-head competition
between the Mil and Kamov design bureaux was
avoided. Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov,
RuAF Commander-in-Chief, announced to the
world's press in August 2003 that both the
Mi-28N and Ka-S2 had been selected for front-line
service, with the former to gradually replace the
worn-out Mi-24 fleet, while the Ka-52 would be
produced in limited numbers for use by Special
Operation Forces only.
Development Phas8
The Night Hunter is purposely designed for
anti-armour warfare and the destruction of
well-defended and hardened targets, as well as
performing aerial mine laying, suppression of
area targets and the destruction of small sea and
river vessels and all sorts of low-level aircraft.
The seconddevelopment vehicle for the !tt/-2IN,
aircraftOP2, wearing the serial '02' is capturedby the
camero carrying a war loadofeight AtakaVATGMs on
the starboard out.r pylon as well as a BBV-2020-round
pock for BOmm rockets on the inner pylon. Rosrvl'nO
-
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WHN.AJRFCflJ. ~ C O M
approach the target area at high speed at treetop
height, then pop up to acquire the target and fire
the weapons in a shallow dive.
To achieve increased survivability of both
airframe and its crew, the design team took into
consideration knowledge acquired through hard-
learned lessons learned during Soviet operations
with the Mi-24 in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
Protection is mainly achieved through extensive
armouring of the airframe's most vulnerable
areas to allow, at least in theory, the Night Hunter
to soak up a much heavier punishment in combat
than its predecessor was capable of.
Crew members are provided with a new
technology rescue system including Zvezda
Pamir-K energy-absorbing seats combined
with energy-attenuating undercarriage and
jettisonable cockpit doors, main rotor blades and
stub wings. This seat/undercarriage combination
enables the pilot and the gunner to survive
crash landings with a descent rate of up to 12m/s
(40ft/s); impact forces are reduced from 60-s8g to
'only' 12g. Night Hunter's crew rescue system, if
activated above 330ft (100m), first jettisons the
main rotor blades, stub wings and the cockpit
doors, and then, the crew members, who are
prOVided with parachutes, bail out. Inflatable
bladders, designed to prevent contact with the
main undercarriage units or the gun turret, are
incorporated into the design to ensure a safe
exit. In the event that the system is activated
below 330ft (100m), the crew members' seat belts
are automatically fastened and the helicoptel
performs a crash landing.
The second production standard of the
helicopter. fielded after 2010, was planned to
introduce a DASS with its active countermeasures
component comprising six UV26 36-round chaff!
flare dispensers for ejecting 16-mm chaff and
flares cartridges housed in the wingtip pods.
The passive components of the Mi-28N's DASS
comprise the LlsO Pastel radar warning system,
L138 Mak missile warning receiver and Ll40 Otklik
laser warning sensors as well as engine infrared
suppressors which could the helicopter's thermal
signature by a factor of 2.2 in a bid to decrease
the acquisition range of heat-seeking air-to-air
and surface-to-air missiles. ..
Survivability features
Unlike the Western anti-armour helicopter
employment doctrine, which predominantly
relies upon ambush tactics, the Mi-28N, just
as its predecessor the Mi-24, is designed to
be employed much more like a modern-day
equivalent of the World War Two Ilyushin 11-2
Shturmovik low-level armoured attack aircraft.
Russian modus operandi calls for the aircraft to
In its initial version the N025 mast-mounted
radar developed by the Ryazan-based GPRZ
Company is claimed to be capable of searching
a gO-degree sector only, with a total search
area of 154 sq mites (400sq km) and a scan cycle
completion time of 1.2 seconds. The underlying
terrain image can be used by the crew for rapid
cueing of the Tor optronic sensor package
towards a selected target thus shortening the
target search-and-acquisition cycle. In addition,
the processed radar picture can be used as a
means of distributing targeting information
among a group of helicopters via a secure data-
link. There is also a Moving Target Indicator (MTI)
mode for detecting moving targets.
This aspect provides a good viewto the Mi-2BN's nose, featuring: (from the top down) the 'pimple' antenna
used for the guidance of the 9Mf2DAtoka-Vmissile, the GOES-S2Dpayload used for night flying, the Tor-N target-
ing sensor housedin a drum-shaped turret with two optically flat windows. On the bottom is the mass;n turret
containing the Shipunov 2A42 JOmm connon. Alexander Mladenav
B The 2A42 gun has a 900rpm rapid rate offire (the slowrate is 200-JOOrpm) andsingle shots can also be
fired in, as seen here during groundtrials. lIverrcllSSok/,
The Mi28Nwill be employed on the battlefieldinpairs or four-ship formations for CAS andanti-tankmissions.
under the nose. Tor's development, however,
is reported to have been a difficult undertaking
because of both the technological complexity of
the system and difficulties in finding sufficient
funding. The drum-shaped turret can move 110
degrees left and right, 13 degrees up and 40
degrees down; it has two optically flat windows
comprising a direct-optics channel, a TV-camera
channel and a FUR channel as well as a laser
rangefinder. The optical and IR channels feature
two fixed Field of View (FoV) positions - with 3x
and 8x zoom respectively, while the TV-channel
is provided with a lOx zoom capability. No
performance data for the Tor's sensors has been
publicly revealed so far. Optimised for low-flying
at night, the Mi-28N achieves this thanks to the
GOES-s20 electro optical suite supplied by Perm-
based UOMZ. Used only for navigation purposes,
the kit integrates a FUR and low-level TV camera,
housed under the 'pimple' missile guidance
radome in the nose.
Current plans call for both the pilot and the
co-pilot/gunner to be equipped with a helmet-
mounted-sighting system on final production
standard aircraft.
The first development vehicle olthe Mi-l8N programme, aircrah OP*1, seen In flight in the vicinity af
Moscowwhere the Mil MHP test bose is located. ()Pf(0b01 'p, OIitt M
Russian Rotary Night Hunter
Guns, rockets, missiles and bomblets
The Mi-2BN's main weapon is the supersonic
command line-ot-sight 9M120V
Ataka-V anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) with
a maximum range of 3.13nm (S.8km). Up to
16 rounds can be carried on two under-wing
launchers. but usually eight are carried in two
fouHound units. The Ataka-V has a tandem
warhead specially designed for countering the
explosive armour protection of modern main
battle tanks (MBTs); the first warhead reacts to
the outside layer of armour and clears a path for
the second charge to facilitate the penetration
of the interior of the vehicle. There is also an
option for the Mi-28N to use the extended-
range AtakaD, which has a maximum range of
5.5nm (10km) enabling the crew to pick out and
destroy targets at relatively long distance, safe
from engagement by most battlefield air-defence
weapons.
The Mi-28N's Shipunov 2A42 30mm gun
with a maximum rate of fire of 900rpm was
originally developed as an infantry weapon and
is borrowed from the BMP-l infantry fighting
vehicle. This weapon was preferred to purpose-
designed aircraft guns for both the Mi-28N
and Ka-SO/S2 attack helicopters because the
weapon is widely renowned for its reliability;
it is little affected by dirt, dust and sand and
has an excellent ballistic performance. Its main
drawback is its higher weight when compared
to a weapon purposely designed for use on a
helicopter. It is believed to weigh as much as the
twinbarrel GSh-30-2 installed on the Mi-24P. The
nose-mounted NPPU-28 gun turret can rotate
110<- left and right, up and 40'" down and is
provided with twin-axis stabilisation. Steering
and firing of the gun uses the Tor targeting
system, but it can also be fired by the pilot,
rather than the gunner, when locked in bore-
sight position. Second generation Mi-28Ns will
introduce the capability of slaving the turret to
By April2007, as many as live Mi-2BNs were
reported to have been engagedIn the type's testing
andevaluation effort - among these were the two
development vehicles OP-Tand OP-2 and the three ini-
tial production examp'.s. RcmverfOIlSSoIdor'
the pilot's/gunner's line of sight. using a helmet-
mounted sight.
Unguided weapons can be carried on four
pylons under the stub-wings (each with a
capacity of t,OS81b {480kgll and include 80mm
5-8 rockets fired from B8V-20 20 round pods,
5-13 122mm rockets fired from five-round B13
pods or S-24 240mm rockets (two each carried
on the inner pylons). In addition, the very precise
UPK23-250 gun pods with GSh-23 23mm twin-
barrel guns and 250 rounds can be carried in
two pods carried on the inner pylons. Other
weapon options include KMGU-2 bomblet/mine
dispenser pods and the 9M39 Igla-V air-to-air
missile, designed for anti-helicopter and anti-UAV
operations; up to eight can be carried on four
Strelets twin missile launcher units.
Some Russian helicopter experts maintained
that in real-world combat operations the Mi-28N
would be limited to operating in a single role
only, either anti-tank or close air support (CAS)
because of a perceived limited combat load.
However, in the former role with 2,6401b (l,200kg)
of fuel onboard, the Night Hunter can operate
with a full load of 16 Ataka-V missiles and 150-
250 rounds for the 2A42 cannon, while when
employed for CAS, a typical combat load includes
two 20-round rocket packs for firing 80mm
rockets, between 2 and 4 ATGMs and 150 rounds
for the gun.
po xpectatlons
The Mi-28N's entry into service with the
RuAF's Army Aviation branch in early 2008
had a positive effect on its export potential.
The Night Hunter is now cleared for export
through Rosoboronexport, Russia's defence
export agency. In 2008, Rostvertol's Director
General, Boris Slusar hinted to the media that
India, Algeria and China were being viewed as
the most likely initial export customers for the
Night Hunter, but in the event, just as happenpd
with the enhanced MI-3SM attack helicopter
Venezuela has emerged as the type's most
likely first export customer During a visit to
Rostvertol in June 2007, Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez is said to have expressed a strong
interest in obtaining the export+configured
Mi-28NEh derivative for his country's Aviaci6n
Militar Nacional Bolivariana (Venezuelan Military
Aviation). In discussions with the press during
the Mi-28N's handover ceremony in January 2008
Rostvertol's 51usar maintained his belief that a
contract with Venezuela could be concluded
by around mid-2009. No such order has been
confirmed, although rumours persist of a
requirement for ten to twelve machines to
replace the nation's ageing OV-10 Broncos.
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