ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 152456
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| Date: | Friday 11 January 2013 |
| Time: | night |
| Type: |  Mil Mi-35P |
| Owner/operator: | Tatmadaw Lei (Myanmar Air Force) |
| Registration: | MAF#68?? |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | ca 20 Miles (48 Km) South of Myitkyina -
 Myanmar
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Myitkyina Air Force Base |
| Combat Mission | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Kachin ethnic rebels battling the Myanmar army in northern Myanmar, say they shot down a government helicopter on Friday night 11 January 2013, but the army says it crashed due to engine failure. Two helicopter pilots and a sergeant were killed.
Russian-made Mil Mi-35P (Mi-24) attack helicopters in groups of helicopters have sometimes been described as Mi-35, which is the Mi-24's export designation. A helicopter which was shot down by KIA on January 11, 2013 (or, according to Burma's government, made an "emergency landing" due to engine failure) was identified as an Mi-35 by a Burma government official. The Mi-24/Mi-35 ("Hind") is world-famous as an attack helicopter, built for speed and armored to the point of near-total invulnerability from small-arms fire. Its weapons options include "23 mm automatic cannon, 16 anti-tank missiles or up to 80 unguided rockets" (Strategypage.com) It has little capacity for carrying troops (only about 8 passengers) or supplies. Burma's Air Force reportedly purchased 50 combat-capable Mi-24/Mi-35 helicopters as well as 12 Mi-2 transport helicopters from Russia "for counter-insurgency" in 2010 ("Burma Buys 50 Combat Helicopters" Irrawaddy, September 8, 2010.) There were also accounts of an Mi-8 medevac helicopter being damaged during a battle on December 14, 2013. The Mi-8 is a multi-role transport helicopter with gunship capabilities.
Mil Mi-35P Close Air Support(CAS) was in fact never that close. It also appears that many air strikes were directed at suspected KIA positions well behind the front lines. As a result, the local forests and wild life appears to have suffered far more damage than the Kachin insurgents.
Fear of ground-fire may also have pushed inexperienced pilots to higher altitudes. But the 12.7mm heavy machine-guns fielded by the Kachin pose only a minor threat to fast-flying jets and heavily-armored, titanium-bellied Mi-35 gunships; and losses were in any case slight. Battlefield reports indicated that one Mi-8 helicopter was damaged on December 14 and seen flying back to Myitkyina trailing smoke. On January 11, both sides confirmed the crash of an Mi-35 over KIA territory.
Sources:
http://www.fox4news.com/story/20569112/myanmar-helicopter-crashes-in-northern-battle-zone
https://www.shine.cn/archive/article/article_xinhua.asp?id=118882
Scramble
http://www.projectmaje.org/airwar.htm
http://www.htetaungkyaw.net/2013/01/pyrrhic-victory-in-myanmar.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Jan-2013 01:07 | gerard57 | Added |
| 12-Jan-2013 01:25 | gerard57 | Updated [Date] |
| 12-Jan-2013 06:38 | gerard57 | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative] |
| 27-Apr-2016 09:32 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Jun-2016 09:00 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Registration, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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