A unique take on the Mi-24 from South Africa — meet a new attack helicopter landing in the British helicopter tree, the Super Hind!
Super Hind: A Squadron Vehicle Attack Helicopter for Great Britain at Rank VI
At a glance:
- Ingwe Tandem ATGMs!
- Optical-electronic countermeasures.
- Exhaust screen suppressors.
- Traversable 20 mm cannon.
- No air-to-air missiles.
The Super Hind modernization program for the Mi-24 family of helicopters was developed by South African company Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE). The goal of the program was to extensively upgrade and retrofit the helicopter in order to equip it with advanced weaponry and improve its adaptability on the modern battlefield. It received extensive enhancements to its navigation systems, which enabled all-weather round-the-clock operation.
First in line for the Super Hind was the Algerian Air Force, which signed a contract in 1999 to modernize 40 of their Mi-24V models. Later, helicopters from Bulgaria and Azerbaijan were also modernized under the Super Hind program.
Meet the Super Hind!
The legendary Mi-24 “Crocodile” has received a noticeable upgrade in the form of the new Super Hind and is especially optimized for Ground Battles, featuring all new tandem ATGMs. In addition to this, South African engineers completely redesigned the front part of the Mi-24, where a sighting system and 20 mm autocannon with boxes for belts are located. Let’s take a look at this new squadron vehicle coming to the Firebirds major update!
After starting out with familiar rockets found on the Mi-24, such as the default S-8KO (of which there are 80) and S-24, the Super Hind is able to unlock up to eight INGWE anti-tank guided missiles. If you’ve ever used the South African ZT3A2 Ratel vehicle, you’ll be familiar with these missiles. They’re powerful and are located under the Super Hind’s wings and can engage targets up to 5 km away with pinpoint accuracy thanks to the help of excellent optics, speed and resistance to jamming. So, once they hit, what kind of damage can you expect? A lot! This missile can punch through 1000 mm of armor, and combining this with the tandem warhead means there’s not much that can withstand a hit from the INGWE.
Did you know? INGWE is the Zulu word for Leopard, it’s quite a rare sight to see a Leopard and a Crocodile working together in harmony!
The standard machine gun mounted in the nose of many Soviet Mi-24 models has been replaced with a rapid-firing 20 mm GI2 cannon equipped with AP rounds. These are highly effective for destroying light targets at close range, and can even punch through the roof of many MBTs. The cannon is fully traversable and can lock onto targets accurately even while performing maneuvers.
While the Super Hind is an adept hunter when it comes to ground vehicles, it can’t boast as much ability when confronted with airborne threats. This helicopter can’t carry any air-to-air missiles, so it must rely on its vast array of countermeasure systems and autocannon with automatic target tracker to fend off enemies in the air. While it lacks offense in this area, it’s thankfully not lacking in defense, being equipped with a large number of chaff and flares, exhaust screen suppressors, and optical-electronic jamming systems.
Like other squadron vehicles, the Super Hind can be obtained for free by playing the game while in a squadron and earning activity points. Though, if you can’t wait to fly this South African Croc, you can always purchase it directly with Golden Eagles. The Super Hind will be available in the Firebirds major update at rank VI in the British helicopter tree, where it will complement IFVs and the early Challenger 1 MBTs nicely in lineups.
That’s all for today! We hope you look forward to giving this helicopter a spin in the next update, until then, keep checking in for more devblogs and happy hunting!
Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.
