Mi-8MPTR-1

In this article we will talk about the Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicppter, which is built to cover aircraft and ground objects and counter the work of enemy's air defense and fighter aircraft. The letters "PR" in the designation of the helicopter mean "jamming, Rychag", which means that it's equipped with the Rychag-AV EW complex

The L187A complex works in the 5,1 to 11 GHz wave range (C-band and X-band), can simultaneously silence up to eight radars in a 45° sector at a distance of up to 150 km. The jamming power is 105 kW for each target. The equipment weighs 1200-1400 kg, occupying most of the cargo compartment of the Mi-8MTV-5-1 helicopter.

Mi-8MTPR-1 is easily recognizable by the four antennas on the sides outside on the fuselage: the front ones receive enemy radar signals and determine their types and azimuths, the rear ones jam them. Instead of the rear windows, UV-26 devices are installed for firing thermal traps that protect the helicopter from IR-homing missiles

Test flight of two prototypes of Mi-8MTPR-1 began in 2010, and the first helicopters went into production in 2015.

In general, before the full-scale invasion, there were about two dozen such helis in the 404 federation, but...

On May 13, 2023, two Mi-8MTPR-1 helicopter negatively took off (or just crashed) in the Bryansk region.

On June 24, 2023, during the "justice march" of the "Wagner" PMC, three helus were shot down.

On November 27, 2023, the command of the Air Force Base of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that two Mi-8MTPR-1 had gone into eternal flight

Mi-8MTPR-1 can check the air for 2,4 hours. They are mostly used as a group for more effective radio-electronic warfare and, as usual, they fly at an altitude of about 3,000 m. Due to this fact, the range of the Rychag-AV system increases