Mi-28NM

Russia’s Mi-28NM is a modernised development of the Mi-28N “Night Hunter” attack helicopter, carrying the NATO reporting name Havoc. Produced by Rostvertol — part of the Russian Helicopters holding and the long-standing production partner of the Mil design bureau — the aircraft first flew in 2016 and, per Russian industry announcements, completed state acceptance trials in 2020. The Russian defence ministry subsequently indicated plans to upgrade the existing Mi-28N fleet to the NM standard from 2022, positioning the type as the Russian Aerospace Forces’ primary tandem-seat anti-armour helicopter alongside the Ka-52.

The NM variant centres on a reworked avionics and sensor suite. The manufacturer describes a new N025 millimetre-wave mast-mounted radar, upgraded gunner optics with third-generation thermal imaging, a missile approach warning system, and a new radar warning receiver — a package intended to let the two-seat crew find and engage targets at night and in poor weather. Two uprated VK-2500P turboshafts drive the five-blade main rotor; Russian sources state these improve payload and hot-and-high performance over the earlier Mi-28N. Fixed armament remains the 30 mm 2A42 autocannon in an under-nose turret, a weapon shared with the BMP-2 and other Russian attack helicopters. The pylons under the stub wings are cleared for the laser-guided 9K127 Vikhr missile — previously associated chiefly with the Ka-50/52 family — the radar-guided 9M123 Khrizantema anti-tank missile, 9M120 Ataka missiles, and S-8 and S-13 rocket pods. Russian sources also credit the NM with the LMUR “Izdeliye 305” long-range guided missile, which has appeared repeatedly on Russian army aviation helicopters operating over Ukraine. The 9M39 Igla is carried for self-defence against aircraft. A detailed independent teardown of recovered NM-specific avionics has not surfaced publicly; wider analyses of recovered Russian helicopter electronics have repeatedly found Western-sourced commercial components, a pattern that has driven Western export-control attention.

The Russian Aerospace Forces are the only confirmed operator of the NM. The baseline Mi-28N is in service with the Algerian Air Force, the Iraqi Army Aviation Command, and the Uganda Air Force; Russian industry has publicly discussed NM-standard pitches to India and Bangladesh, though no export contract has been confirmed. The Mi-28 family has seen combat in Syria and in Russia’s war against Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces say several Mi-28 airframes have been lost to ground fire and man-portable air defence systems; independent OSINT accounting of specific NM losses remains limited.

The NM sits alongside the Ka-52 “Alligator” in Russia’s attack-helicopter inventory, the two types pursuing broadly similar missions through different airframe philosophies — the Mi-28’s conventional tandem-rotor layout against the Ka-52’s coaxial design. Russian industry has continued to announce further avionics and weapons work on the type.