![\"Hind\"](\"https:\/\/hcsblogdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/06\/hind.jpeg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For three weeks starting in early June 2016, the Damascus suburb of Darayya was exposed to merciless aerial bombardment carried out primarily by Mil Mi-25\u200a\u2014\u200aNATO code name \u201cHind\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200agunship helicopters belonging to the Syrian Arab Air Force.<\/p>\n
The Hinds dropped no fewer than 564 bombs over this period, underscoring the Mi-25\u2019s reputation as one of Syria\u2019s worst terror weapons.<\/p>\n
The Mi-25 is often described as a \u201cdowngraded\u201d variant of the classic Mi-24 gunship. It\u2019s a big, heavy, fast and heavily-armed helicopter with armor protecting its cockpit and the most important parts of its engines.<\/p>\n
Its major characteristics include its small stub wings, relatively slender fuselage and two separate cockpits in front of a big main cabin.<\/p>\n
The major difference between the Mi-24 and the Mi-25 is that the latter is armed with four old, 9M17 Skorpion guided anti-tank missiles, known to NATO as AT-2 Swatters. The AT-2 is a radio-commanded anti-tank missile with a range of 3,500 meters that can reportedly penetrate up to 500 millimeters of armor.<\/p>\n
While AT-2s are still in use in Syria, the Mi-25s\u2019 primary <\/em>armament consists of the Yak-B 12.7-millimeter machine gun that\u2019s installed in a barbette under the front cockpit, plus up to four UB-32\u201357 pods for 57-millimeter unguided rockets or various bombs up to 500 kilograms in weight, for a maximum total of 2,000 kilograms.<\/p>\n According to official <\/em>claims from Damascus\u200a\u2014\u200afrequently cited in the Russian press\u200a\u2014\u200athe Syrian Arab Air Force received its first batch of 12 Mi-25 helicopter gunships just in time for the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982.<\/p>\n Read the Remainder at War is Boring<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n