2001 War in Afghanistan

Mi-24/Mi-35 in the 2001 War in Afghanistan

Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-35 Hind E crews used the attack helicopter for close air support, kinetic operations, and armed escort during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Weapon profileMi-24/Mi-35
SideUnited States, NATO, and Afghan government forcesRoleFire SupportForce Protection
Mi-24/Mi-35, Attack helicopter and armed assault transport, Aircraft & UAVs - 2001 War in Afghanistan
Image source: Bulgarian Mi-24 Hind.jpg

Evidence Map

ClaimSources
Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-35 crews used the aircraft in kinetic operations against Taliban forces in Baghlan Province.

Sources: Airman leads joint Mi-35 attack helicopter adviser team for Afghan Air Corps

Afghan Mi-35 crews used the aircraft for armed escort of Mi-17 helicopters carrying Afghan National Army soldiers.

Sources: Airman leads joint Mi-35 attack helicopter adviser team for Afghan Air Corps

Open reporting described dated April and May 2010 Mi-35 close-air-support or attack missions near Kunduz and Kabul.

Sources: Soviet workhorses, ISAF training form the backbone of a developing Afghan Air Force

The Afghan Mi-35 program had returned to live-fire flight training in 2009 with guns and rockets before the reported 2010 combat missions.

Sources: Afghan Air Corps Returns Mi-35 Helicopters to Flight

Timeline

Mi-24/Mi-35 In 2001 War in Afghanistan

  1. Afghan Mi-35 live-fire program resumes

    Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-35 crews fired 12.7 mm guns and 57 mm rockets near Bagram as part of the rebuilt armed-helicopter program.

    Sources: Afghan Air Corps Returns Mi-35 Helicopters to Flight

  2. Close air support near Kunduz

    Long War Journal reported that Afghan Mi-35s supported the Afghan National Army's 209th Corps during an engagement with a large Taliban force near Kunduz.

    Sources: Soviet workhorses, ISAF training form the backbone of a developing Afghan Air Force

  3. Hinds respond outside Kabul

    Long War Journal reported that several Afghan Mi-35 Hinds engaged armed men running a roadblock outside Kabul.

    Sources: Soviet workhorses, ISAF training form the backbone of a developing Afghan Air Force

  4. U.S. Air Force documents kinetic and escort missions

    U.S. Air Force reporting said Afghan Mi-35 crews had conducted a Baghlan Province kinetic operation against Taliban forces and an armed-escort mission for Mi-17 transports carrying Afghan soldiers.

    Sources: Airman leads joint Mi-35 attack helicopter adviser team for Afghan Air Corps

Documented Use

Direct proof of use

Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-35 Hind E helicopters were documented in combat use during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force reporting in May 2010 said Afghan Mi-35 aircrews had been employed against Taliban forces in Baghlan Province and had also provided armed escort for Mi-17 helicopters carrying Afghan National Army soldiers to a forward location.

The same U.S. Air Force account placed the Mi-35 program inside a joint advisory effort by American, Czech, and Hungarian personnel assigned to the 440th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron and related mentor teams. The reported mission set included weapons firing, command and control, forward-observer coordination, presidential air-squadron escort operations, and continuing kinetic operations.

Sources: Airman leads joint Mi-35 attack helicopter adviser team for Afghan Air Corps

Dated combat milestones

Open reporting gives two dated 2010 combat examples. Long War Journal reported that on April 20, Afghan Mi-35s were called to Kunduz to support the Afghan National Army's 209th Corps during an engagement with a large Taliban force, and that on May 12 several Hinds engaged armed men running a roadblock outside Kabul.

Those reported examples match the broader U.S. Air Force account that Afghan Mi-35 crews had moved from range work and advisory training into kinetic and armed-escort missions by May 2010. The sources do not establish a complete sortie history for the aircraft; they document specific missions and the operational role that Afghan crews were being prepared to sustain.

Sources: Soviet workhorses, ISAF training form the backbone of a developing Afghan Air Force, Airman leads joint Mi-35 attack helicopter adviser team for Afghan Air Corps

Role in Afghan air operations

In Afghan government service, the Mi-35 filled an attack-helicopter role rather than a simple possession or transfer entry. DVIDS republished a 2009 Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan account describing the return of Afghan Mi-35s to flight, live-fire gunnery with 12.7 mm guns and 57 mm rockets near Bagram, and the goal of giving the Afghan National Army dedicated armed aircraft after years without that capability.

By 2010, the documented combat use centered on close air support, suppression or attack against hostile forces, and escort of Mi-17 transports. The public evidence reviewed here supports Afghan government use under U.S.-led and NATO-linked advisory structures; it does not show Taliban operational use of Mi-24/Mi-35 aircraft during the conflict.

Sources: Afghan Air Corps Returns Mi-35 Helicopters to Flight, Soviet workhorses, ISAF training form the backbone of a developing Afghan Air Force, Airman leads joint Mi-35 attack helicopter adviser team for Afghan Air Corps

Images

Conflict Context

Rocket launching from an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-35 attack helicopter during a 2010 live-fire exercise
An Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-35 fires a rocket during a May 2010 live-fire exercise at Forward Operating Base Shank.

Sources: Airman Leads Joint Mi-35 Attack Helicopter Advisor Team image

Related Weapons by Role

Mi-8/Mi-17, Medium twin-turbine utility transport helicopter, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsMi-8/Mi-17Medium twin-turbine utility transport helicopterThe Mi-8/Mi-17 is a Soviet-designed medium utility helicopter family used for troop lift, cargo transport, evacuation, search-and-rescue, electronic-warfare, armed support, and helicopter-borne boarding roles. Its large production run, 4,000 kg payload class, current Mi-8AMT/Mi-8MTV-1/Mi-171/Mi-172 production branches, and wide export base make it a recurring rotary-wing platform across conflicts from Afghanistan and Syria to Ukraine and the Red Sea crisis.
Mi-2, Light twin-turbine utility and training helicopter, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsMi-2Light twin-turbine utility and training helicopterThe Mi-2, NATO reporting name Hoplite, is a Soviet-designed light utility helicopter produced in Poland by PZL-Swidnik. It moved the Mi-1 light-helicopter concept to twin turboshaft power, giving operators a compact transport, training, rescue, reconnaissance, and limited armed-support platform. Cataloged conflict evidence ranges from Soviet and Nagorno-Karabakh inventory context to Ukrainian loss and transfer records and Myanmar reporting on junta air attacks.
FPV drones, First-person-view small UAV / one-way attack drone, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsFPV dronesFirst-person-view small UAV / one-way attack droneFPV drones are small first-person-view UAVs adapted from racing-drone and commercial quadcopter technology into tactical reconnaissance and one-way attack systems. Russia and Ukraine turned them into mass battlefield consumables, while later reporting from Lebanon, Mali, Myanmar, Syria, Sudan, and Mexico shows the same control-link, payload, and low-cost adaptation pattern spreading to state forces, insurgents, and organized armed groups.
Improvised drones, Improvised military drone class, Aircraft & UAVsAircraft & UAVsImprovised dronesImprovised military drone classImprovised drones are locally modified or field-assembled uncrewed aerial systems built from commercial quadcopters, FPV airframes, agricultural-drone parts, and workshop-made payload fittings. The record tracks a distributed weapon class rather than one factory model: Islamic State, Ukrainian and Russian forces, Hamas, Israeli units in Gaza, and Myanmar armed actors all adapted small UAVs for reconnaissance, bomb drops, assault support, and low-cost strike roles.
2 more weapons
Back to Mi-24/Mi-35Browse 2001 War in Afghanistan

Sources