On June 21, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that Ukrainian soldiers successfully shot down a russian Mi-24 attack helicopter, marking the first instance of such destruction in the past two weeks of active combat on the front lines. Previously, it was reported that Ukraine had managed to bring down 5 russian Ka-52 helicopters in 4 days.
In addition to the various modifications of the Mi-24 helicopter, including Mi-24V, Mi-24D and Mi-24P, russia also possesses the Mi-35M variant. The Mi-35M helicopter stands out visually due to its non-retractable chassis, a design improvement intended to minimize fuselage damage during emergency landings. Furthermore, unlike its predecessors, it features two suspension points under each wing, instead of three.
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According to The Military Balance 2022, the russian army had an estimated total of 100 Mi-24 helicopters of all variants and around 60 Mi-35M helicopters prior to the commencement of the full-scale invasion. This indicates that, at that time, the Mi-24 and its derivatives were the most prevalent attack helicopters among the occupying forces. For comparison, the reported number of Ka-52 helicopters was 133, while the Mi-28 helicopters amounted to approximately 90 units.
According to Oryx, russian forces have lost a minimum of 15 helicopters of the Mi-24 and Mi-35M types during the war against Ukraine. However, it should be noted that this calculation is inherently imprecise due to the methodology used by the Oryx authors, who relied solely on photographs of destroyed russian helicopters published by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is important to consider that many of the downed enemy helicopters crash in the temporarily occupied territories where visual evidence of their losses may not be promptly disclosed.
The Mi-24 and Mi-35M helicopter families are equipped to deploy anti-tank missiles such as the Shturm and Ataka, which have a firing range of 5-6 kilometers. Additionally, the russian forces claim that their Ka-52 helicopters are capable of utilizing advanced laser-guided missiles called Vikhr, with an extended range of up to 10 kilometers. Moreover, it should be noted that the russians also possess the capability to launch guided missiles like the LMUR (Izdeliye 305) from their Mi-28NM helicopters, with an impressive range of up to 15 kilometers.
Open-source data indicates that the production of LMUR missiles, even within russian defense industry facilities, is limited to a few dozen units per year. Therefore, it is unlikely that the production of advanced Vikhr missiles with a range of up to 10 kilometers is taking place at a rate of several hundred per month within the russian defense infrastructure.
As a result, it can be surmised that the russian military has imposed certain limitations on the utilization of these modern guided missiles, which are primarily carried by the new Mi-28 and Ka-52 helicopters. Once these limitations are exceeded, older but more available helicopters such as the Mi-24 and its variants, including the Mi-35M, are employed in military operations.
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