Mil Mi-24



"A Hind D...?"

- Solid Snake

"Who else could shoot down two F-16s with a Hind?"

- Revolver Ocelot to Solid Snake, referring to Liquid Snake's feat of using a Hind D during the Shadow Moses Incident.

Mi-24 Hinds are Russian attack and transport helicopters used by many state militaries and mercenary forces worldwide.

Background
The Mil-series of helicopters stem from the design bureau of Mikhail Mil. Nearly all Soviet-era helicopters are from the Mil design bureau, except for the Kamov helicopters. The Mi-24 was the first purpose-built helicopter gunship in the Soviet military forces. Unlike the slimmer US-made AH-1G Cobra, however, the Mi-24 was not designed solely as such; the Hind was larger due to a 6-to-8 man troop compartment in the lower fuselage, as it was meant both as troop transport and attack helicopter. The Hind has four main wing hardpoints along with two on the wingtips; a typical load consists of four large unguided rocket pods and a pair of wingtip double launch rails, each with two guided anti-tank missiles. NATO designated the production "Hind A", the pre-production "Hind B", and the unarmed trainer models "Hind C."

The Mi-24D, or Hind D, has a new cockpit design. The earlier Mi-24s had a squat, polygonal "greenhouse"-style cockpit with the gunner's front seat offset left and the pilot's rear seat offset right, but its extensive glazing provided poor crew protection. The Hind D cockpit, apart from the use of thick armor-glass canopies, adopted the in-line tandem configuration similar to US attack helicopters. The Mi-24D has two cockpit 'bubbles', with the pilot in the upper bubble and the gunner in the lower one, separate from each other. This also gives the Hind D access to either a 12.7mm or 23mm cannon, mounted under the chin of the Gunner's bubble. All existing Hind A, B, and C designs have since been superseded by the D or the later Mi-24V Hind E design.

All Hind helicopters pack armored cockpits for pilot and gunner, later models capable of absorbing anything up to 20mm cannon hits and thus offering protection from all but the heaviest anti-aircraft weapons.

History
During the early 1960s, Hinds were being developed at Groznyj Grad via Colonel Volgin's usage of the Philosophers' Legacy. The completed prototypes likewise acted as patrol craft around Tselinoyarsk as part of their testing exercises.

During the Virtuous Mission in 1964, early production Hind A helicopters (identified by their greenhouse-style canopies) were used by Colonel Volgin to transport the Shagohod from Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov's design bureau to Groznyj Grad. After The Boss had defected and launched Naked Snake over the Dolinovodno Bridge, a Hind A transported The Boss and her Cobra Unit to Groznyj Grad while another Hind A transported Ocelot, Volgin, and a woman.

A week later during Operation Snake Eater, Hind As were also used to patrol the mountaintops, in addition to being used to transport Volgin's GRU troops. The Hinds were developed by Colonel Volgin at Groznyj Grad using the Philosopher's Legacy. Later, Snake encountered the helicopter while in the mountains while on the way to Groznyj Grad, which was sent by Volgin to patrol the area and send additional manpower in order to ensure that Snake doesn't arrive at Groznyj Grad. Likewise, a Hind A underwent maintenance taking at least a day at Bolshaya Past's relay station before being dispatched to Krasnogorje. A Hind A was also used to transport GRU reinforcements to Groznyj Grad when Snake and EVA were escaping on motorcycle, but was subsequently destroyed by Volgin's Shagohod. These gunships were presumably being used for field tests. In addition, Naked Snake initially thought the Hind was the escape craft that EVA prepared, although she stated it wasn't, citing that its range was not enough to escape both Tselinoyarsk and the Soviet Union. The Tselinoyarsk Hind As were equipped with 12.7mm machine guns on the nose, as well as rocket pods and radio-guided anti-tank missiles on the wingtips.

In a radio conversation during Operation Snake Eater, this Russian gunship, and its later models, was first named the Hind by Naked Snake, Sigint and Major Zero.

During the San Hieronymo Takeover in 1970, several Hind A helicopters were deployed during the FOX unit's rebellion on the San Hieronymo Peninsula. Several Hind As were used in their "theft" of the Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear. One gunship was used by Gene, Cunningham, and Ursula, to search the peninsula for Big Boss (Naked Snake) and Roy Campbell, who had earlier escaped from their custody. This Hind was also tailed by the resistance group formed by Big Boss and Campbell, leading them straight to the research lab.

A squadron of Hind As were later deployed to the peninsula's assembly plant, where FOX soldiers attempted to stop Snake and his resistance forces from sabotaging the prototype Metal Gear RAXA. Three Hind As carried away the ICBMG from the plant, having prepared it for transportation while Snake was distracted by RAXA, with Gene following on board another.

During the Peace Walker Incident in 1974, Hind helicopters of both varieties were involved in the Peace Sentinels' invasion of Costa Rica. Most of the Hinds were also modified to remove two of the missile pods and replace them with fuel tanks.

CIA Station Chief Hot Coldman boarded a Hind D while the Chrysalis AI weapon airlifted Peace Walker's frame from Mt. Irazu to a secret mining facility. Shortly thereafter, Coldman, anticipating that Big Boss would attempt to track down the Mammal Pod and sabotage it, also heightened security by sending multiple Hind A choppers to patrol the area, along with the Chrysalis, and have scouts lurking about. While traveling to the AI facility in the Costa Rican jungle of Central Heredia, Naked Snake (Big Boss) and the Militaires Sans Frontieres were forced to neutralize a Hind A that spotted them on patrol. After Big Boss failed to dismantle the Mammal Pod at the AI Lab, the Hind D airlifted the Mammal Pod from the AI Lab to the Mine Base while Big Boss was regaining consciousness.

Coldman, along with Paz Ortega Andrade and Strangelove, later traveled on board the Hind D while accompanying the all-terrain Peace Walker AI weapon to a U.S. missile base in Nicaragua. During his infiltration of the base's communications tower, the Hind D ambushed Snake, forcing him to fight it head on, along with Soviet infantrymen. All of the Peace Sentinels' Hinds were supplied by allied Soviet forces, led by KGB operative Vladimir Alexandrovich Zadornov. Throughout their mission, the Militaires Sans Frontieres also managed to procure some Hind Ds and other war vehicles, several of which were also given the custom colors of purple and yellow, the colors of the Militaires Sans Frontieres. Big Boss later prepared to board a Hind D preparing to takeoff when discussing with Kazuhira Miller the need to operate outside of society, although not before telling Miller to assemble the men.

During the Outer Heaven Uprising in 1995, Solid Snake was attacked by Hind D helicopter shortly before parachuting from the rooftop onto the courtyard of Outer Heaven. The Hind had next to no movement besides the gunner's machine gun, which was a 20mm electric cannon capable of firing 4000 rounds per minute. Snake was able to easily destroy the Hind by using a M79 grenade launcher to fire grenades into the cockpit of the Hind.

During the Zanzibar Land Disturbance in 1999, Solid Snake encountered yet another Hind D, which this time was much more fearsome than its predecessor. The Hind was able to take off before being engaged by Snake, so it had full access to its missiles and other weapons. However, Snake was able to ground the chopper using several Stinger missiles.

The Hind D helicopters used in Zanzibar Land were modified versions of the standard Hind D, correcting flaws in the original design and increasing its abilities and firepower. The Hind D ZL is invulnerable to small firearms, and could also be equipped with boat-shaped hull, for balance of the wings, tail, and both sides of the cockpit, for use in amphibious operations. The Stinger missiles that Snake procured in Zanzibar Land were originally to have been fitted onto the Hinds.

The Gigant, a Zanzibar Land-developed airlift helicopter designed specifically for the transport of Metal Gear D, was also stated to have been derived from Hind D technology in addition to Sikorsky line of transport choppers.

Equipment:
 * Periscope sensor equipped to mast height (this allows the use of periscope attacks in dense environments such as jungles.
 * Boat-shaped hull for amphibious ops.

Weaponry:
 * 57mm missile pod
 * 132 rounds AT-2 Swatter anti-tank missiles
 * 132 rounds AT-6 Spiral anti-tank missiles
 * 132 rounds Stinger anti-aircraft missiles
 * 132 rounds Sagar anti-tank missiles
 * Four-barreled YakB-12.7 12.7mm gatling gun or twin-barreled GSh-23L 23mm cannon

During the Shadow Moses Incident in 2005, a Hind D was piloted by Liquid Snake and a Genome Soldier. The Hind had been given to Liquid by Sergei Gurlukovich, as a down payment in exchange for the Metal Gear REX data. It utilized infrared and nightvision equipment. Liquid initially used the Hind to shoot down two F-16s.

Liquid later demonstrated the gunship's prowess as a fearsome combat machine while battling Solid Snake, often maneuvering in often surprising positions and gunning. Liquid had to pilot the Hind on manual due to the blizzard nullifying the use of IR and nightvision equipment. Because of this, it also ended up being unaffected by chaff grenades. Liquid was also such a skilled pilot that he could fly the Hind from the weapons operator's seat; the pilot's seat is in the rear cockpit. Although there were dual flying controls, this meant that the Genome Soldier that accompanied him wasn't required to do anything. However, just as in Zanzibar Land, Snake was able to destroy the gunship with Stinger missiles, and despite Liquid's best efforts in regaining control of the damaged chopper, the Hind eventually collapsed to the ground and crashed with a fireball to the sky, though Liquid would survive the helicopter's destruction.

During the Second Shadow Moses Incident in 2014, Old Snake (Solid Snake) sees the crashed Hind that was used during the 2005 incident. Also in 2014, Hind As were also a part of Clawing Ocelot.

Behind the scenes
The Hind helicopter has become a staple of the Metal Gear series, appearing as a mandatory boss in most games since the beginning.

In Metal Gear, the Hind D was a boss but was removed and replaced by different boss characters Twin Shot in the NES version of Metal Gear. In Metal Gear 2, the Hind D shares the same boss BGM theme ("Mechanic") as Metal Gear D, fought later in Metal Gear 2. In Metal Gear Solid, Liquid Snake pilots the Hind D from the gunner's seat (presumably done for cinematic reasons) to make him more visible in frontal shots of the helicopter. While in the remake, he was seen piloting in the pilot's cockpit instead of the weapons operator seat (although he still manages to fire missiles at Snake), and the Genome Soldier piloting the gunship with him was also omitted after the first Hind D cutscene. Also in the remake, similar to Metal Gear 2 the Hind D shares the same boss BGM theme as Metal Gear REX.

The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2
The Hind D (early model) can be found in The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 (in the "MECHANICS" section).

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The earlier-designed Hind A model is encountered in Metal Gear Solid 3, patrolling the Krasnogorje Mountaintop, and attacking the player during the Alert phase. The helicopters used to transport the Shagohod early in the game, were originally intended to be Russian Kamovs, but the modeling team did not want to create an all-new helicopter model for the 15 seconds that they were to be shown, so they used the Hind A model instead. The existence of the Hind in Metal Gear Solid 3 and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is actually an anachronism since the Hind was not introduced until 1972. However, the former game implies that the Hind was created through the use of the Philosophers' Legacy, which was stolen late in the game.

If the player snipes at Groznyj Grad from the vista, behind the Krasnogorje Mountaintop Ruins, the base will go on alert and send a Hind A chopper to attack Snake. Even if the Hind A is destroyed, another one will take its place.

During cinematics and gameplay, there are numbers printed on the Hind As, implying that they follow either a unit number or the production number of the gunships themselves. Numbers on the gunships included 34 and 3.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, the Hind A makes appearances during the game's cutscenes.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
In Metal Gear Solid 4, the player can see the crashed Hind that was used by Liquid in Metal Gear Solid in the northeast section of the snowfield. Also, Hind As were seen in the Clawing Ocelot PMC TV spot.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
In Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, various models can be fought during gameplay, with the player having the opportunity to capture them, for use by the Militaires Sans Frontieres. Promotional spots for Peace Walker also had various vehicles in various areas, with a Hind D being seen travelling through Los Cantos's canyon along with various MBTK-70s and LAV-typeCs, although this along with other similar scenes were cut from the final game. In the last few minutes of the Tactical Espionage Operations trailer released shortly before Peace Walker's release in Japan, there were six Hind Ds owned by the Militaires Sans Frontieres that were approaching Mother Base in a scene that was ultimately cut from the game.

Whenever the player encounters a Hind in Peace Walker, the player also has the option of either capturing it for MSF's hangar and use for Outer Ops, or destroying it. The sole exception is when the player has to fight a Hind D at the U.S. Missile Base, in which case the player cannot capture it, and thus the only option the player has in stopping the Hind D and continuing is shooting it down and destroying it. Also, the Hind D at the U.S. Missile Base did not have any pilots seen in the cockpit, although they were heard when launching weapons.

If the player managed to bring an M47 Dragon to the U.S. Missile Base's heliport during the main story mission "Head to the Control Tower" and then used it on the Hind D, it will shoot it down upon impact, and Miller will then call in shortly after it crashes and say "Nice shot, Boss."

The Hind Ds were given four different designs in the game: The first was a grayish blue design that had a red fuel tank on each of its "wings" replacing one of the machinegun pods. This variety was used as the regular Hind Ds during the Vehicle Battles in Extra Ops as well as some of the cutscenes. The second was a brownish variety similar to Liquid's Hind D. These were used in the Hind D battle in the mission Head to the Control Tower. The third were colored primarily in black and red. These were used for the Custom Hind D battles. Finally, the last ones were colored purple with tints of yellow, used for the Hind Ds seen in the second ending.

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
In Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D - The Naked Sample, a Hind A was patrolling near Dolinovodno, with Snake hiding behind a tree. The Hind A then crossed over the bridge. After Snake was forced to jump the bridge due to being stung by various hornets, he held onto the ledge of the bridge right above the churning rotors of a Hind A below the bridge, and crawled away as the Hind went away from the bridge to continue patrolling the river, with a second Hind following it. While navigating a very narrow cliffline, three more Hind As arrived to patrol the ravine surrounding Dolinovodno before Snake attempted to evade a rockslide.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear
 * Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
 * Metal Gear Solid
 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
 * Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker