Ever since the delivery of the first Mi-24As and Mi-25s to Afghanistan in the late 1970s, this attack helicopter saw massive use in this conflict. The V-VS initially deployed its Mi-24Ds and Mi-24Vs – with a six-barrel 12.7mm machine gun in a barbette under the forward cockpit – gradually increasing their total to about 250 examples by 1985–1987. Around the same time, the significantly improved Mi-24P appeared, mounting a twin 23mm gun on the right side of the forward fuselage, exhaust diffusers, and flare dispensers added on the rear of the fuselage. Due to the type’s relatively weak performance in ‘hot and high’ conditions, the external load was usually limited to a pair of B-8V pods, sometimes accompanied by a pair of 9K114 Shturm (ASCC/NATO reporting name ‘AT-6 Spiral’) anti-tank guided missiles. Alternatively, general purpose bombs (up to 500kg), and even massive and laser-guided S-25-0 rockets are known to have been used in combat in Afghanistan by Soviet Mi-24s. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)