And new campaigns.

04 July 2021 Date

DCS: Mi-24P Hind

Soviet-Afghan War, 1979-1989

The rebel mujahideen (jihadist) guerrillas ranged against Afghan Government and Soviet forces called the Hind helicopter gunship Shaitan Arba, or ‘Satan’s Chariot’. The Russians, with a nod to the Il-2 Shturmovik armoured ground attack aircraft that did great service busting Nazi tanks in WW2, knew it as ‘летающий танк’, ‘the flying tank’.

Mi-24P Hind

Both had a point. Even the early Hind-A variant that entered Afghan service in 1979 packed a massive punch. Twin stub wings with three hardpoints apiece meant it could mount a formidable mission-dependent loadout mix. This included four pods of 57mm (3.1 inch) S-5 rockets; four AT-2 ‘Swatter’ anti-tank missiles; and ten 100-kilogram (220 lb) or four 250-kilogram (550 lb) or two 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) iron bombs. It also had a nose-mounted 12.7mm machine gun and the ability to ferry eight fully armed combat troops.

Mi-24P Hind

Big, ugly and intimidating, the bug-faced Hind was super-fast for its day and extremely durable: the mujahideen were dismayed to find that rounds from their 12.7mm (.50 inch) DshK ‘Dushka’ heavy machine guns simply bounced off its titanium rotor blades and heavily armoured carapace.

A bit of background: the Hind’s creator was the world-famous aircraft designer Mikhail Mil. He was convinced that the modern battlefield would be ever more mobile, and the variety and versatility of air power would become ever more important. In the early 1960s, Mil came up with the idea of an ‘assault helicopter’, or flying infantry fighting vehicle. Its ability to carry eight troops sets the Hind apart from ‘pure’ attack helicopters or helicopter gunships such as the AH-64 ‘Apache’ or the Kamov Ka-50 ‘Black Shark.’ Operated in 48 countries and with export sales in the thousands, the Hind is the greatest all-rounder in the history of combat helicopters. And the most iconic.

A true Afghan War story:

Eyewitness account, as told by 22 SAS trooper ‘Gaz Hunter’.

‘It was quiet that day. We’d been lying around dozing in the sun, waiting for the Soviet convoy expected through at last light. Most of the mujahideen were wrapped in their blankets, fast asleep. The noise came first: a deep bass drumbeat on the thin air. Only one thing made that sound.

Something glinted in the harsh light: a Hind D, nose down and coming fast, smudge-brown against the blue sky. A second gunship reared up alongside the first. They had climbed vertically up the cliff face to our right, using it to mask their sound, catching us completely unawares. Already, they were close enough to open fire.

My brain raced while I stood like stone.

Mi-24P Hind

Bright flashes blossomed from the stub wings. Salvo after salvo of rockets smashed into our position. The world turned to blast and flame. To help me recognize one from the next, I’d given the mujahideen nicknames taken from The Lord Of The Rings. I saw Smeagol take a direct hit. The high-explosive fragmentation warhead blasted him high into the air. He hung there for a moment, like a rag doll a small child had tossed up for fun. Then the gunship’s 23mm cannon roared into life. Great gouts of sandy earth leapt all around us, shells and razor rock splinters scythed through our ranks, killing and maiming.

I grabbed the AK and jumped to my feet. There was no time to think, the shock and the deafening roar held me fast. Then instinct cut in. I turned and began to run, faster than I’d ever run before. The boulders and culverts at the back of the corrie, they were my only chance. I had to reach them…’

A fearsome aerial weapons platform that is even more of a force multiplier, the Mi-24P’s armament includes the Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-30-2 (ГШ-30-2) twin-barrel 30mm autocannon with a rate of fire ranging from 1,000-3,000 rounds per minute, an approximate range of 1800 metres and a muzzle velocity of 870 m/s (2,850 ft/s). This firestorm minces anything other than main battle tanks, so don’t get in its way.

F-14A Fear the Bones

Campaign by Reflected Sims

Fear The Bones!

April 1989. The USS Valley Forge cruiser had an accident on the Black Sea just off the coast of the Soviet Union, and the USS Theodore Roosevelt is being sent there to support the rescue operation with VF-84 on board. Jaws, Jester, Ghost, Pyro, Caveman, Grip, Elvis and Glory, all hot shot F-14A Tomcat fighter jocks of the ’Jolly Rogers’ are itching to see some action, but they might get more than they bargained for.

Join them in fighting MIGs, intercepting Bears, defending the fleet, escorting Alpha strikes and much more in this relaxed, story-driven campaign that is an entertaining mix of realism and 1980s style fiction. Kick the tires, light the fires and make them ’Fear the Bones!’.

New WWII Missions

World War 2

World War 2

Half-a-dozen new WWII missions are now available to fly. They all use the new “in-cockpit” briefing feature and have Fly-With-A-Friend variants as well as three difficulty levels.

New WWII Mission on DCS: The Channel

  • All Channel Map
  • Against the Odds
  • Bf109 K4 Schwarm intercepts low-level Allied bombing south of Dunkirk
  • Fw 190D-9 intercepts low-level Allied bombing south of Dunkirk

The series of themed missions are based on Rhubarb missions. Fly as four-ship of either Spitfire IX, P-47D Thunderbolts or P-51D Mustangs, with a pair of fighter escorts, to find and take out a hidden Freya-Wurzburg radar site just east of Cap Gris Nez.

In addition there is a mirror to these missions for the Fw 190A-8 Anton (spoiler alert) intercepting the very same raid.

Have a good end of week,

Yours sincerely,



Eagle Dynamics Team