The Mi-28 Havoc is a Russian two-seat attack helicopter developed for anti-armor, close air support, and armed reconnaissance missions. Modern Mi-28N/NM-family aircraft combine armored tandem cockpits, a 30 mm chin cannon, guided missiles, rockets, and day/night sensors; Russian and Iraqi operators have used the family in Ukraine, Syria, and anti-ISIS operations, where low-altitude helicopter tactics have faced dense air-defense and drone threats.
Russian forces have operated Mi-28 attack helicopters during the full-scale invasion, including Mi-28N/UB combat use and later Mi-28NM precision-strike footage with LMUR/Izdeliye 305 missiles; Ukrainian sources and reporting also document losses, FPV-drone attacks, and rear-area drone strikes against parked helicopters.
Role detailsRussian Aerospace Forces deployed Mi-28N attack helicopters in Syria, including forward-based detachments supporting Syrian government operations and counter-ISIS close-air-support missions around Palmyra.
Role detailsIraqi Army Aviation used Russian-supplied Mi-28NE attack helicopters during the 2016 anti-ISIS campaign in Iraq, including operations connected to Fallujah and Ramadi.
Iraqi Army Aviation used Russian-supplied Mi-28NE attack helicopters during anti-ISIS operations, including June 2016 actions connected to the Fallujah/Ramadi fighting.
Mi-28 records consistently frame the helicopter around low-altitude attack, anti-armor fires, and close support rather than transport or utility missions.
| Feature | Catalog-relevant detail | Source context |
|---|---|---|
| Mission set | Round-the-clock attacks against armored and soft targets, frontline positions, command points, and low-speed aircraft. | Rosoboronexport Mi-28NME listing |
| Fixed gun | 30 mm 2A42 cannon in a nose turret, giving the helicopter an organic close-support weapon separate from external stores. | U.S. Army ODIN and Deagel |
| Guided missiles | Mi-28NE/NME descriptions list anti-tank guided missiles, including 9M114/9M120-family weapons and newer export missile options. | Deagel and Rosoboronexport |
| Survivability | Armored crew and critical systems plus countermeasures shape how the aircraft is employed against ground fire and MANPADS threats. | Rosoboronexport and U.S. Army ODIN |
The Mi-28NM branch is the modernized Russian line behind the export Mi-28NME marketing designation, with changes centered on sensors, survivability, and precision-weapon employment rather than a separate airframe category.
The Avangard-3 modernization program produced the Mi-28NM, with prototype flying in 2016 and initial production aircraft preceding a planned 98-helicopter order through 2027.
Source context: The War Zone; Vertical Mag/Russian Helicopters.
Reported Mi-28NM changes include a mast-mounted N025M radar, revised electro-optical sighting equipment, helmet-mounted sights, and updated communications and defensive aids.
Source context: The War Zone.
Recent footage-based reporting places Mi-28NM aircraft in Ukraine with LMUR guided missiles and possible added antenna housings associated with counter-drone electronic-warfare adaptation.
Source context: Army Recognition; Russian MoD footage as reported.
The public record separates the baseline Soviet/Russian Mi-28 family from Night Hunter, export, modernized, and training-combat designations.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mi-28N Night Hunter | Night/all-weather attack helicopter | Night Hunter introduced the night-capable production branch; Deagel records the Mi-28N first flight in 1997 and the first Russian Army service batch in 2009. Sources: Mi-28NE |
| Export Night Hunter branch | Mi-28NE export designation | AIN reported Iraqi Mi-28NE aircraft in anti-ISIS combat in 2016, while Deagel identifies the export configuration and operator context. Sources: Iraq Using Mil Mi-28 Attack Helicopters Against Daesh, Mi-28NE |
| Mi-28NM / Mi-28NME | Modernized Russian/export branch | The Mi-28NM branch came from the Avangard-3 modernization program, adding a mast-mounted N025M radar, revised sensors and self-defense equipment, and compatibility with newer precision weapons; the export Mi-28NME is Rosoboronexport's marketed branch. Sources: Mi-28NE, Mi-28NME, Russia's Mi-28NM Attack Helicopter Seen Using New Anti-Armor Missile In Ukraine |
| Training-combat branch | Mi-28UB dual-control designation | The UB branch adds dual controls for conversion training while preserving a combat-helicopter role. Sources: Mi-28NE |
The Mi-28 family combines a nose-mounted cannon with externally carried missiles and rockets.
| Ammunition | Ammunition type | Firing evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 30 mm autocannon | U.S. Army ODIN describes the Mi-28's 30 mm cannon fit, matching the 2A42 gun family already used on the BMP-2 and related platforms. |
The Mi-28 family carries guided weapons on stub-wing hardpoints, from older Shturm and Ataka anti-tank missiles to newer Mi-28NM/NME-compatible missile branches.
| Launched item | Item type | Launch evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 9M114 anti-tank guided missile family | Deagel lists 9M114-series missiles among Mi-28NE anti-tank armament, matching the 9K114 Shturm/Kokon missile family represented by the linked record. Sources: Mi-28NE |
 | 9M120 anti-tank guided missile family | Deagel and Rosoboronexport both place the Ataka family in the Mi-28 armament mix, and WeaponSystems.net identifies it as the improved successor to 9M114 Shturm. |
 | Light multipurpose guided missile | Rosoboronexport lists Mi-28 helicopters among the carriers for the 305E light multipurpose guided missile, the export branch of the LMUR/Izdeliye 305 family. Sources: 305E |
 | Vikhr-family guided missile adaptation | Defense-industry reporting described Vikhr-1 adaptation and factory testing for Mi-28N-family carriage; this supports an integration lane rather than routine operational carriage. |
The original Mi-28 design emerged from late Soviet attack-helicopter development, with the prototype flight commonly dated to 1982.
Sources: Mi-28 (Havoc) Russian Attack Helicopter
The night-capable Mi-28N branch flew in 1997, setting up the later production Night Hunter configuration.
Sources: Mi-28NE
Deagel records the first six production Mi-28N helicopters entering service with the Russian Army in April 2009.
Sources: Mi-28NE
RAND documents Russian Mi-28N deployments and forward rotary-wing basing during the Russian air campaign in Syria.
Sources: Road to Damascus: The Russian Air Campaign in Syria, 2015 to 2018
Russian defense and industry reporting described a 98-aircraft Mi-28NM order for delivery through 2027 after the initial production aircraft.
Sources: Russian Helicopters completes aircraft deliveries for state defense contract, Russia's Mi-28NM Attack Helicopter Seen Using New Anti-Armor Missile In Ukraine
Open-source reporting tied Iraqi Mi-28 gunships to anti-ISIS operations after Fallujah and around Ramadi.
Sources: An Open Source Analysis of the Fallujah Convoy Massacres, Iraq Using Mil Mi-28 Attack Helicopters Against Daesh
Rostec said Rosoboronexport would showcase the Mi-28NME attack helicopter and related air weapons at HeliRussia 2024.
Sources: Rosoboronexport to Show Modern Russian Military Helicopters at HeliRussia 2024
Army Recognition reported Russian Ministry of Defense footage of a Mi-28NM using an LMUR missile in Ukraine, with visible antenna housings interpreted as a possible counter-drone electronic-warfare adaptation.
Sources: Russian Mi-28NM Attack Helicopter Spotted with Possible Counter-Drone Electronic Warfare Upgrade
Ukrainian reporting said a drone strike hit a Russian Mi-28 and Mi-17 in Voronezh Oblast, illustrating the helicopter fleet's rear-area vulnerability during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
Sources: 2 Russian helicopters struck in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, Ukraine's elite drone unit says
The Mi-28's sourced conflict record is concentrated in Russian and Iraqi attack-helicopter operations rather than in every export customer's service.
| Conflict lane | Documented pattern | Source context |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 Russia-Ukraine War | Russian Mi-28 use is documented through helicopter operations, losses, FPV-drone attacks, reported strikes on parked aircraft, and Mi-28NM LMUR strike footage. | RUSI, Defense News, Kyiv Independent, The War Zone, Army Recognition |
| 2011 Syrian Civil War | Russian Mi-28N detachments formed part of forward-based rotary-wing support during the Syria air campaign. | RAND |
| Iraq and anti-ISIS operations | Iraqi Mi-28NE aircraft were documented in 2016 anti-ISIS operations linked to Fallujah and Ramadi. | Bellingcat and AIN |
