Mil Mi-2


The Mil Mi-2 is a small, three rotor blade Soviet-designed multi-purpose helicopter developed by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, designed in the early 1960s and produced exclusively by WSK "PZL-Świdnik" in Poland. Nearly 5,500 were made by the time production stopped in 1999, and it remains in service globally.

Design and development

The Mi-2 was produced exclusively in Poland, in the WSK PZL-Świdnik factory in Świdnik.
The first production helicopter in the Soviet Union was the Mil Mi-1, modelled along the lines of the S-51 and Bristol Sycamore and flown by Mikhail Mil's bureau in September 1948. During the 1950s it became evident, and confirmed by American and French development, that helicopters could be greatly improved with turbine engines. S. P. Isotov developed the GTD-350 engine and Mil used two of these in the far superior Mi-2.
The twin shaft-turbine engines used in the Mi-2 develop 40% more power than the Mi-1's piston engines, for barely half the engine weight, with the result that the payload was more than doubled. The Mi-2 fuselage was extensively altered from its predecessor, with the engines mounted overhead. However, the external dimensions remained similar.
The Mil-built prototype first flew in the Soviet Union on 22 September 1961, after which the final development and the production of the project was transferred to Poland in 1964. The first Świdnik-built example flew on 4 November 1965; this was the only Soviet-designed helicopter to be built solely outside the Soviet Union. PZL-Świdnik produced a total of 5,497 helicopters, about a third for military users. The factory also developed fiberglass rotor blades, and developed the wide-body Mi-2M seating 10 passengers instead of eight. Most typical role-change kits include four stretchers for air ambulance usage, or aerospraying or cropdusting applications.
In Poland, several specialized military variants were also developed in early 1970s for support or training roles, with 23 mm autocannon, machine guns and/or two 57 mm rocket pods, four 9K11 Malyutka anti-tank missiles or Strela-2 AA missiles.

Operational history

The Mi-2 was first introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1965. The Mi-2 is used by mainly former Soviet and Eastern Bloc countries, although it was also purchased by the armed forces of Mexico and Myanmar.
Most of the armed Mi-2 variants were used by Poland. Some were also used by the former East Germany.
North Korea still maintains a large active fleet of Mi-2s.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces were recorded capturing three Mi-2 helicopters in Kherson International Airport.
The helicopter is also used to spray agricultural chemicals by private owners in Ukraine. Two people were killed in a crash in 2021 near Zaive, in the region of Mykolaiv. Another two people died in a crash of Kharkiv Air Force University Mi-2 crash in September 2024.
On 26 October 2024, a medical Mi-2 helicopter crashed in Kirov region in Russia, killing all four aboard, including a pilot, a doctor, and two paramedics.
As of 8 March 2025, Ukraine has lost six Mi-2 helicopters, including three which were captured by Russian forces.

Variants

;V-2
;V-2V
;Mi-2 Platan
;Mi-2A
;Mi-2B
;Mi-2Ch Chekla
;Mi-2D Przełącznik
;Mi-2FM
;Mi-2P
;Mi-2R
;Mi-2RL
;Mi-2RM
;Mi-2Ro
;UMi-2Ro
;Mi-2RS Padalec
;Mi-2S
;Mi-2Sz
;Mi-2T
;Mi-2U
;Mi-2US
;Mi-2URN Żmija
;Mi-2URP Salamandra
;Mi-2URP-G Gniewosz
;Mi-2 Plus
;Mi-3
;Mi-2MSB or MSB-2 Nadia
;Mi-2MSB-V or MSB-2MO

Operators

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Former operators

; Czechoslovakia
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