HP-48 Krokodil



The HP-48 Krokodil was a Soviet Attack Helicopter in use with the Militaires Sans Frontiéres by the end of 1974 and in widespread use in the Soviet Army and multiple Private Forces by 1984.

Background and Features
The HP-48 appears closely related to the Soviet Mi-24 Hind in previous and later use, but also incorporates features of the later Mi-28 Havoc, such as the redesigned cockpit, fuselage, intakes, and replacing the Yak-B cannon with the new Shipunov 2A42 cannon. Otherwise, it served more or less the same purpose as the Hind, serving both attack and transport roles with its passenger compartment. The HP-48 also featured similar hardpoints as the Hind and was typically equipped with two rocket pods on each as well as two missile launchers.

History
The HP-48 was first seen used by MSF by the end of 1974, having replaced MSF's Mi-24 fleet of Helicopters. One, piloted by a MSF member callsign "Morpho", was commonly seen assisting Snake between the end of 1974 to MSF's destruction in 1975.

Side-Ops
The HP-48 piloted by "Morpho" assisted Snake during his multiple infiltrations of the United States Naval Prison Facility on the Cuban coast. The helicopter was used by Snake for both extracting enemy personnel and prisoners of war, as well as providing fire support when needed. Prominently, "Morpho" flew Snake into the base in an operation to rescue a MSF Intel Team agent who was escaping capture after being uncovered.

Ground Zeroes
The HP-48 used by "Morpho" would assist Snake once again on March 16, 1975 in an operation to recover Sandinista child soldier Chico as well as Cipher agent Paz Ortega Andrade who were being held at the Prison Facility. For this operation, the helicopter was staffed by a MSF Combat Medic, who waited in the passenger compartment in order to treat the prisoners once Snake brought them aboard. "Morpho" would ferry Snake, Paz, Chico, and the Medic to Mother Base as it was being attacked by XOF. Several other HP-48s were also seen aboard Mother Base at the time Snake arrived. "Morpho" proceeded to pick up MSF Subcommander Kazuhira Miller as well as an additional MSF member before escaping the wreckage of Mother Base. However, the HP-48 would crash into the ocean after spinning out of control and colliding with a XOF UTH-66 Blackfoot due the detonation of Paz's second bomb.

The Phantom Pain
By 1984, the HP-48 had been adopted by the Soviet Army and was prominently used in the Soviet-Afghan War at the time of Venom Snake's awakening. It would also serve as the Attack Helicopter of choice of several Private Forces operating along the Angola-Zaire border. It was used in several operations by both Soviet and PF Forces, and was also used alongside Armored Vehicle Units as well as to guard the locations of prisoners of war and Highly-Skilled Soldiers. The HP-48 could also be deployed to reinforce Soviet and PF forces in the case of a combat alert.

Several HP-48s, as well as Soviet Armor, were commandeered by XOF upon their seizure of OKB Zero in 1984, both being used to guard the base in case of Venom Snake's infiltration as well as in a futile attempt to destroy Metal Gear Sahelanthropus.

At least one HP-48 was also used by PMC Roughneck Raven upon Venom Snake's infiltration of their FOB.

Behind the Scenes
The HP-48 Krokodil is the designation of the helicopter that replaced the series-standard Mi-24 helicopter in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and ''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. ''As with most of the equipment in the game, it is not directly based on a real-world weapon but rather is a combination of various real-world weapons that existed around the time period. Paticularly, the HP-48 is a combination of the Mi-24 Hind and the Mi-28 Havoc helicopters, the latter not seeing widespread use until the 1990's.

The HP-48 was also used in the Extra Ops of Ground Zeroes as a prop on the heliport representing the Hind-D from the original Metal Gear Solid in Déjà Vu as well as ferrying Raiden to the Prison Facility in Jamais Vu.

The HP-48 was referred to as a "Hind-D" in Konami's 12 Days of Metal Gear Christmas count-down, though this was before the official name was established in The Phantom Pain

Appearances

 * Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (first appearance)
 * Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain