Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant
Russia (USSR) Est. 1947
The Soviet Union's premier helicopter design bureau. While American helicopters got famous in Vietnam, Mil was quietly building the biggest, heaviest, most absurdly capable rotorcraft on the planet.
Heritage
Mikhail Mil founded the bureau in 1947 and spent the next three decades building helicopters that made Western engineers do double-takes. The Mi-8 became the most-produced helicopter in history. The Mi-24 Hind terrified NATO. The Mi-26 carried loads that American helicopters couldn't dream of. And then there was the Mi-12 — the biggest helicopter ever built, a machine so insane it still holds world records that nobody has seriously tried to break.
Known for
helicoptertransport
Notable programs
- Mi-8 (Hip)
- Mi-12 (Homer)
- Mi-24 (Hind)
- Mi-26 (Halo)
