The Mil Mi-8 (NATO code: Hip) was and still is a Soviet-made multipurpose helicopter with a full metal semi-shell structure, with a fixed undercarriage, in a classic arrangement with a main rotor and a tail rotor on the beam. The drive was provided by two Klimov-TW-2-117 turboshaft engines with a capacity of 1500 HP each. The flight of the first prototype took place in July 1961, and serial production started shortly thereafter and continues to this day. All over the world to date, more than 17,000 copies of this very successful and popular helicopter have been produced! A lot of modernization of the basic version was created. The first assault versions were the Mi-8TW and Mi-8TP helicopters, which could be armed with machine guns and unguided missiles. The Mi-24 attack helicopter later evolved from these versions. From 1981, new engines were installed in the Mi-8, thus changing the designation to Mi-17. Currently (2017) in the Russian Federation the designation of all machines of the Mi-8 / Mi-17 family has been unified to "Mi-8". The wildly successful Mi-8 was very widely exported to the countries of the Warsaw Pact, but also to many other countries of the world, such as India, Iraq and Turkey. Mi-8 helicopters took part in numerous armed conflicts, including the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989).
The Mil Mi-17 (NATO code: Hip) was a Soviet, and is currently a Russian, all-metal multipurpose helicopter with a fixed, triple, retractable landing gear, in a classic arrangement with a main rotor and tail rotor on the beam. The drive - in the Mi-17 1A-2 version - is provided by two Klimow VK-2500PS-03 engines with a capacity of 2400 KM each. The flight of the first prototype took place in 1975, and serial production started two years later and continues (under the designation Mi-8MT). The machine is 18.47 meters long with a rotor diameter of 21.25 meters.
The Mil Mi-17 was designed and put into production as a far-reaching development of the Mi-8 helicopter. Externally, it is very similar to it and was initially designated as the Mi-8MT, but since 1981 the designation Mi-17 has been used. The Mi-17 helicopter differs from the Mi-8 mainly by moving the propeller on the tail boom from right to left and the use of a completely new power unit with higher maximum power, which positively influenced the machine's performance. The changes also affected the main rotor, chassis and drive train. Many versions of this highly successful helicopter have appeared in the course of production, including the Mi-17 (basic version), Mi-17P (radio-electronic warfare version) and Mi-17-VA (flying hospital version). The Mi-17 machine was exported to many countries around the world, including: Algeria, Cuba and Egypt.