Russian Helicopters to overhaul Hungary's Mi-24V/P combat helicopters.

Eight Hungarian Air Force (HuAF) Mi-24V and Mi-24P (NATO reporting name: Hind) gunships delivered to the 419th Aircraft Repair Plant (419 ARZ), a subsidiary of Rostec`s Russian Helicopters holding, will be overhauled, modernized and adapted for night vision googles (NVG).

A HuAF Mi-24P combat helicopter
(Credit: Nighthawk9)

The works will be conducted by JSC 419 ARZ, JSC Moscow Helicopter Plant named after Mil, a subsidiary of the Russian Helicopters, and JSC NPO Geofizika-NV under the contract signed by the Russian Helicopters and the HuAF, according to a Russian defense industry source.

All eight helicopters have been disassembled, and their Klimov TV3-117V turboshaft engines have been delivered to JSC ODK-Klimov, a subsidiary of Rostec`s United Engine Corporation, for repair and extension of their service life. The cockpits of the helicopters are being modernized to accommodate repaired avionics, while the internal and external lighting facilities of the Hungarian Mi-24s are being adapted for the use of NVG.

The first four helicopters are planned to be handed over to the customer in April, while the delivery of the second four gunships is scheduled for July, following ground and night flight trials. The Mi-24V and Mi-24P gunships fitted with NVG will then be tested in Hungary. These trials may result in the modernization of four more HuAF Mi-24 gunships at 419 ARZ.

On April 12, 2016, a Russian Mi-28N attack helicopter was lost in an accident in Syria, killing both crewmembers, who were using legacy ONV-1 Skosok NVG while piloting the aircraft. As a result of the investigation into the crash, the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) forbade use of the Skosok-type googles when piloting the rotary-wing aircraft. Pilots now use state-fo-the-art 3+-generation GEO-ONV1-01M (for Mi helicopters) and GEO-ONV1-01K (for Ka helicopters) NVG developed and manufactured by Geofizika-NV.

Russia features leading positions in the adaptation of helicopter lighting facilities for NVG. The US servicemen, who are piloting in Afghanistan 63 Mi-17V-5 (Hip) utility helicopters delivered by JSC Rosoboronexport, a subsidiary of Rostec, highly evaluated the adaptation of the US-originated lighting facilities conducted by Geofizika-NV.