Mi-8 family
Transport, assault and EW helicopter
The most-built helicopter in the world (> 17,000, > 50 countries). Besides transport there are combat and special versions: the armoured Mi-8AMTSh 'Terminator' with anti-tank missiles, the modern Mi-8MTV-5, and the Mi-8MTPR-1 with the Rychag-AV jamming system, which jams air-defence fire-control radars and has been used in Ukraine. That EW version makes the family relevant to air defenders and aircrew.
Learn more in the AirDefense Academy →Dimensionsfor imagery analysis
- Length
- 18.4 m fuselage (25.2 m with rotors)
- Rotor diameter
- 21.3 m (5 blades), tail rotor 3.9 m
- Height
- 5,5–5,65 m
- Max. take-off weight
- 12,000–13,000 kg
- Recognition
- Large fuselage with sliding door, engines on top; Mi-8MTPR-1: antenna boxes on both sides
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia; US Army TRADOC Worldwide Equipment Guide (ODIN)
General
- Role
- Transport, air assault, EW, command post
- Manufacturer
- Kazan / Ulan-Ude
- In service
- 1968
- Variants
- Mi-8AMTSh 'Terminator' (2009, armoured, Shturm-V/Ataka-V), Mi-8MTV-5, Mi-8MTPR-1 (EW, since 2015), Mi-8SMV (Hip-J, jammer), Mi-17/Mi-171 (export)
- Capacity
- 24–37 troops or 3–4 t cargo
Weapons & EW
- Weapons
- UB-32/B-8 rocket pods, machine guns; AMTSh: Shturm-V/Ataka-V, Igla-V
- EW
- Mi-8MTPR-1: Rychag-AV — jams SAM fire-control radars (autonomous, semi-automatic or manual)
- Performance
- ≈ 250 km/h; ceiling 4,500–6,000 m
Threat
- Significance
- Air assault and special operations; EW version escorts strike aircraft (e.g. Su-34)
- Combat record
- Nearly every conflict since 1970; Ukraine (both sides)
- Threat level
- Medium — the EW version raises the threat to air defence
News archive 5
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
-
«[…] выложили старый видос, где они повредили дроном Ми-28 летом» (Fighterbomber: 'Ukrainians posted an old video of damaging a Mi-28 with a drone in the summer')
This is the personal/editorial voice of the Russian pro-war Telegram channel Fighterbomber, not a position of the Russian MoD; milbloggers can contradict each other and the MoD, and the content has not been independently verified. In a short post on 14 October, the channel responds to the Ukrainian video of a Mi-28 being hit by an FPV drone. According to Fi…
-
Russia unveils Izdeliye 347, a truck-mounted ground launcher for a modified LMUR (Izdeliye 305) helicopter missile, at Tsentr-2026
At the strategic exercise Tsentr-2026, Russia presented a new ground-based missile system, Izdeliye 347 ("Product 347"). It fires a modified LMUR light multipurpose guided missile, which is normally carried by attack helicopters. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence (via RIA Novosti and TASS), the system can strike stationary and moving targets at u…
-
Russian Mi-8 lost over Voronezh region, three crew killed; reportedly shot down by friendly fire during Ukrainian drone raid
A Russian military Mi-8 helicopter crashed on 1 October in a field in Anninsky district, about 80 km from Voronezh and roughly 200 km from the Ukrainian border. All three crew were killed: the pilot, the navigator and the gunner. The pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Mash reported the crash and the deaths that evening but gave no cause. Russian officials have no…
-
Ukraine strikes Novorossiysk naval base; Navy claims Neptune hit on Kalibr frigate Admiral Essen
On the night of 8–9 September 2026, Ukraine carried out a large combined deep-strike against Russia's naval base and commercial port at Novorossiysk (Krasnodar Krai) and against targets near Anapa and Gelendzhik. The Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), Defence Intelligence (HUR/DIU), the Security Service (SSU) and the Navy were all involved. USF commander Robert…
-
Russia unveils 'Dan-T' loitering munition as export counterpart to the 'Banderol' (S8000) missile-drone
At the El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt (8-10 September 2026), Russia's state corporation Rostec publicly displayed for the first time a full-scale mockup of the "Dan-T" (Дань-Т) loitering munition. Rostec says the weapon draws on design work in both cruise missiles and unmanned aviation, has completed all development stages, and has been tested on…