Mil Mi-22 (1975)

Mil

Industry	Aerospace, Defense
Founded	1947
Founder	Mikhail Mil
Headquarters	Moscow , Soviet Union (now Russia)
Products	Helicopters

This article is about a helicopter designed as an airborne command post based on the Mil Mi-6, introduced in 1975. For a transport helicopter concept derived from the Mil Mi-2 in 1965 that was never built, see Mil Mi-22 (1965).

The Mil Mi-22 (Cyrillic: Миль Ми-22) is a helicopter developed during the mid-1970s to serve as an airborne command post for the Soviet Army. In the early 1970s, Mil produced the Mi-6AYA or Mi-6VzPU variants, which were adaptations of the standard Mi-6 transport helicopter tailored for command roles. These earlier modifications evolved into the serially produced Mi-22, a designation previously assigned to an unrealised Mil Mi-2 derivative from 1965. The Mi-22 entered service with the Soviet Air Force in the late 1970s and continued operational use through the dissolution of the Soviet Union, later serving with the Russian Air Force until the early 2000s.

Design

Derived from the Mi-6 platform, the Mi-22 is a sizeable helicopter featuring a conventional layout with a pod-and-boom fuselage and a single five-bladed main rotor. It incorporates substantial stub wings attached to the fuselage sides and employs a fixed tricycle landing gear arrangement. While most differences between the Mi-6 transport and the Mi-22 command aircraft are internal, externally, the Mi-22 can be identified by a prominent antenna mounted on its tail boom. Variations in antenna configuration were common among individual units, reflecting differences in communication systems specific to their assignments. Due to its close resemblance to standard Mi-6 transports, command post versions were frequently marked with a red stripe to facilitate recognition by ground forces.

Development

As early as 1961, the Soviet armed forces identified the strategic advantage of utilizing helicopters for forward command and control of ground units. In that same year, a Mil Mi-4 transport helicopter underwent modifications to serve as an "air command post" (Russian: Воздушный Командный Пункт, vozdushnyy komandnyy punkt), receiving the designation Mi-4VKP. However, the limited power output of this helicopter's engine constrained the effectiveness of this concept. The subsequent introduction of the larger and more powerful Mi-6 presented greater opportunities for such adaptations.

Efforts to develop a command and control variant based on the Mi-6 commenced in late 1972 within a newly established "Equipment Management Department" (ORO, from Russian Отделом Руководства Оборудованием, Otdelom Rukovodstva Oborudovaniyem) at Air Force Repair Plant 535 located in Konotop. A development team under D. M. Melnikov's leadership transformed a Mi-6 by integrating a communications hub and an officers' lounge, resulting in the Mi-6VKP model. Despite its intended role, this helicopter variant was unable to operate its command functions while airborne and required landing to activate its equipment. The ORO department modified 36 Mi-6 helicopters from the Rostov production facility following this design.

Following the Mi-6VKP, a new iteration was created capable of performing comparable command-and-control duties during flight. Central to this aircraft was the Yakhont (Яхонт, an archaic term for ruby or sapphire) communications system, which lent its name to the Mi-6AYA (Ми-6АЯ) designation. It was also referred to as the Mi-6VzPU (Ми-6ВзПУ), an abbreviation for Воздушный Пункт Управления, meaning "air control post." This variant was approved for mass production under the name Mi-22 at the Rostov facility. The Yakhont system consolidated and miniaturized much of the electronic equipment previously installed on the Mi-6VKP by employing solid-state technology.

The Mi-22 entered operational service in 1975. Several units were assigned to mixed air regiments where they operated alongside standard transport Mi-6 helicopters, various other helicopter models, fixed-wing aircraft, and heavy trucks. Production of the Mi-22 was eventually succeeded by the more advanced Mil Mi-27.