Mi-24/Mi-35 Hind
The Soviet gunship that outlived its era — armour, heavy firepower and a troop bay, flown in escort and fire-support roles decades after its designers expected.
Record
Conflict relevance
This is the catalogue's single record for this system. It is relevant to the modules below; each module's Force Atlas shows how it is used there.
Operators
Russia — Mali theatre role: Africa Corps-operated gunships documented; one lost near Tabrichat during the July 2026 Anéfis fighting, and an Mi-35 was lost in the April 2026 offensive. · Ukraine: Soviet-legacy gunships flown in low-level fire-support missions; attrition has been heavy. · Russia: Mi-24 and modernised Mi-35M gunships in escort and fire-support roles.
Battlefield role
Convoy escort, fire support for positions under attack, and strike support to ground columns — the capability an army reaches for when a road move has to survive contact.
Strengths
Armour and firepower suited to escorting road movement; tolerates austere basing.
Limitations
Vulnerable to massed small-arms and MANPADS-class fire at the low level its role demands; maintenance-hungry, and in small fleets every loss is operationally and symbolically expensive.
Visual identification
Large tandem-cockpit gunship with stub wings and the distinctive double-bubble canopy.
Documented conflict use
Documented across the war’s phases; in 2026, one shot down near Tabrichat while escorting the Anéfis relief convoy (July) and another lost in the April offensive — losses acknowledged in Russian and regional reporting.
Branch & service operators
- Malian Air Force (Armée de l’Air)Documented
Related key events
July 2026 nationwide attacks and the battle for Anéfis
A second coordinated wave hits Anéfis, Aguelhok, Gao, Sévaré and Kéniéroba, later Konna and Somadougou. FLA and JNIM fighters besiege the Anéfis base, ambush a Malian–Africa Corps relief convoy near Tabrichat and down an Mi-24; a second column from Gao breaks through and the army announces the town retaken on 10 July, at a stated cost of about 30 soldiers.