The aerial exhibition of a Hungarian Mil Mi-24P attack helicopter in Budapest

@DefAviation ES 8·21·2024 · 20:52 0

Despite being an old helicopter (it made its first flight in 1969), the Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter is still in service in dozens of countries.

The farewell of the Soviet Mi-24V attack helicopters of the Czech Air Force
The impressive 'dump and burn' of a Hungarian JAS-39C Gripen fighter at RAF Fairford

This Soviet-made aircraft, which combines attack and transport capabilities and stands out for its large size (its fuselage measures 17.5 metres) compared to other armed helicopters, is still in the arsenals of several NATO countries' armed forces: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and even the United States, whose army has several of them at Fort Bliss used as aggressors.

The Hungarian Air Force still has 6 Mi-24Ps and 2 Mi-24Vs. They are assigned to the Phoenix Attack Helicopter Battalion of the 86th MH József Kiss Helicopter Brigade, based at Szolnok Air Base. On August 16, a Hungarian Mi-24P, the 332nd, performed an air show in the center of Budapest. The YouTube channel Gouto has posted a very high-quality video showing this aircraft in flight over the Danube River:

You can see some screenshots from this video here. It should be noted that the Mi-29P featured in this display is armed with two fixed 30 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30K cannons, located on the starboard side next to its cockpit. In addition, it carried two external PTB-450 fuel tanks in the inner pylons of its half-wings.