The Mi-17MD (Russian market designation – Mi-8MTV5) multipurpose helicopter is a
further development of the Mi-17 helicopter well-known throughout the world. Flight and
technical characteristics and power-to-weight ratio of the helicopter are considerably
enhanced due to employment of the new TV3-117VM engines that enable it to fly at altitudes
up to 6,000 m, achieve a level flight speed of 270 km/h and acquire a climb rate of up to
20 m/s.
The Mi-17MD is
intended for airlifting of troop units to areas of combat action. While performing the
shuttle flights, several Mi-17MDs can carry out heliborne operations to deliver several
hundred airlanding troopers or infantrymen to an assigned area in the enemy's deep rear,
providing them with air cover by means of onboard armament.
A
loading/unloading ramp and two sliding doors of the cargo cabin make it possible to
perform embarkation/debarkation of 35 troopers in just 15 to 20 s.
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The Igla (on the left) and the Shturm (on the
right) guided missiles on racks |
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The enlarged port-side sliding door and the
unguided rocket pod suspended from the rack |
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The Mi-17MD with the extended loading ramp and
a long-size cargo in the cabin |
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The protective system against ground-to-air
missiles |
The crew cabin lighting equipment allows the pilots to use night vision goggles that
considerably extend the flight capabilities during dark conditions, improve search
conditions of ground objects and victims, and enable the crew to fly special missions at
night and perform low-altitude flights.
Upgraded armor
for the crew cabin and vital systems protects the helicopter against small arms, while
onboard chaff dispensers defend it against ground-to-air heat-homing missiles.
The modernized
fuel system enables the helicopter to fly a ferry range of up to 1,600 km and perform
patrolling of the assigned area or searches for people in distress lasting 10 to 12 hours.
The Mi-17MD can
be used in several versions.
Troop-carrying
version. The helicopter is capable of airlifting up to 35 fully armed troopers in the
cargo cabin. An enlarged port-side sliding door, as well as a starboard sliding door and a
remotely extended loading ramp outfitted with a hydraulic drive enable the heli-borne
troopers to embark/debark in a matter of seconds after landing. A training airlanding
heliborne system provides for leaving the helicopter in air through two doors and opening
of the removed loading ramp. The helicopter's design enables the trooper parties (up to
four troopers at a time) to leave the helicopter by means of SU-R cable-type landing
facilities while the helicopter hovering at a height of up to 30 m above the ground.
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The SX-16 searchlight |
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The pilots' cabin equipped with the set of
Western avionics |
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Transport version. This helicopter is capable of airlifting cargoes of up to 4,000 kg in
the cargo cabin or up to 5,000 kg on an external cable suspension. A Bamby Bucket water
discharging device may be installed for firefighting missions, which enables up to 4 tons
of water to be scooped from open water basins and discharged over a target area in any
flying mode. Its cargo cabin allows the transportation of cargoes up to 10 m long and
requires no modifications for the purpose.
Ambulance
version. This helicopter can carry up to 12 stretchers with sick persons and also up to 20
sitting sick persons or victims accompanied by a medical attendant.
Search and
rescue version. To perform search and rescue operations, this version is equipped with an
SX-16 searchlight, which has a luminous intensity of several million luxes and allows the
crew to search for victims and ground objects from a high altitude, and an SLG-300 hoist
system intended for lifting a cargo or two victims from a height of up to 60 m. To
increase the visual searching time, the crew can use the night vision goggles that enable
the crew to perform visual observation of the ground surface from an altitude of up to 300
m at a natural illumination intensity ranging from 1 to 0.0005 lx.
Combat version.
This version can carry bomb armament with a total weight of up to 3,000 kg, universal gun
pods with 23mm guns, and up to 80 pieces of 80mm unguided rockets. Work is underway to
equip the helicopter with guided missiles.
The helicopter
design makes it possible to easily convert it to any version or perform flights in
combined versions: transport/combat, ambulance/transport, search/combat, etc.
One of the
Mi-17MD versions is equipped with a set of Western avionics, incorporating the EDS-756
electronic display system manufactured by the Honeywell of the United States, D-60350 air
data system manufactured by the Penni&Jails of Great Britain, Honeywell's
attitude measuring system, GH-3000 emergency display system manufactured by the U.S.
company Goodrich, Honeywell's Primus-II integrated radio navigation and radio
communications system, AA-300 low-altitude radio altimeter, Honeywell's Primus-700 weather
radar, and the TNL-2101 I/O satellite navigation system manufactured by the Trimble
Navigation company. The avionics set fully meets the requirements of the FAR-29
International Aviation Regulations.
The furnishing
of the helicopter with this equipment set decreases the helicopter empty weight by 100 kg
and simultaneously provides for double redundancy of all communications, navigation and
flight control systems.
The digital
communications and navigation system, the easy-to-interpret colored presentation of flight
and navigational information on displays, possibility to obtain by each pilot his own
radar picture from one weather radar and provision of a personal digital director system
for each pilot, as well as the instrument landing system, put the Mi-17MD equipped with
the new avionics on a par with the best modern helicopters.
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