The evolution of Russia's famous Hip heavy-duty helicopter family

There's no doubt that the omnipresent Mil Mi-8/17/171 (NATO reporting name: Hip) helicopter family is widely regarded as a modern classic for heavy-duty applications. The chopper’s latest derivatives -manufactured at Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (U-UAP) and Kazan Helicopters (KH) – enjoy high demand worldwide, while continuing to evolve.

Its manufacturers promote the new breed of enhanced Hip military versions as rugged, agile and survivable multi-role, rotary-wing machines, with benign handling and state-of-the art avionics for day and night combat (at least according to modern-day Russian standards).

The helicopters also offer an option as attack aircraft, with air-to-surface guided missiles fitted with a variety of warheads, combined with a large payload for air-assault operations. While export sales and versions dominated in the 2000s, now domestic military and internal security organizations are accounting for the majority of deliveries. …