Helo News game related.

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

BRAZIL AH-2 SABRA UNITS 903 and 904 The following is I believe would serve as a good and viable END for this helicopter and allow a little "swag" for the other squadron I noted in my last post.

I recommend END JUN 2022.
https://www.aviacionline.com/brazili...licopter-fleet
(This is saying the last were retired just before the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. Dated 04 March 2024.

Other sites are saying Mar/Apr of 2022 of the retiring.

I'm still very comfortable with the END as just submitted.

It certainly covers all the "ambiguity" with these various dates on the web concerning the AH-2 SABRA retirement date.

ALSO... Brazil is to receive UH-60M Black Hawk (TI/GSR 40) helicopters to arrive by 2027.
https://en.clickpetroleoegas.com.br/...gthen-defense/

Regards,
Pat

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

Concerning Post 185 Poland AW-149 weapons, don't know about the machine guns or rocket pods (They do make sense though.) unless they are the ones the Italians have on theirs?

But those weapons are not listed in your ref. What is however in your JANES ref is the following...
"The AW149 is replacing the Mil Mi-2 ‘Hoplite' and some PZL-Świdnik W-3PL Głuszec multirole battlefield helicopters and will be armed with Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-surface missiles. Deliveries are scheduled to run until 2029."

Also, according to JANES the START should be JAN 2024 as the article (Dated 8 JAN 2024.) clearly states the first 3 received were formally cleared and are fully operational and fielded by that date.
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...for-operations

Recommend two UNITS one as submitted in Post 185 and a second with the MG's and HELLFIRE II missiles.

If Poland is receiving them from Italy with HF II capability you can be sure that Italy has theirs equipped with them as well as those missiles would require an advanced FCS.

More on them...
"The AW149s, in a configuration corresponding to the needs of the Polish Armed Forces, will be equipped with observation systems, small arms, guided missiles, unguided rockets, and self-defense systems. The helicopters will also be armed with the Hellfire missiles, 800 of those have been requested by Poland to the U.S. via a Foreign Military Sale (FMS). The armament, depending on the type and the helicopter’s configuration, may be installed in the cabin or externally on the stub wings."
https://theaviationist.com/2023/08/0...9-polish-land-
forces/

HELLRIRE II Missile: Was introduced in 1992 and has been continually updated since. Latest version as also used on APACHE the system uses a common launcher the M299 which holds 4 of these missiles. I expect the AW-149 should be able to carry 2 launchers fully loaded. APACHE-64E can hold 4 launchers or 16 missiles. We primarily use the "LONGBOW" version and the more recently the R9X HELLFIRE has become available sort of an "assassins' bullet" some refer to it as the "NINJA BOMB" suited more for operations using a UAV.
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/conte...uct-Card-1.pdf
https://theaviationist.com/2025/03/0...missile-video/
(It deploys 6 blades and essentially "chops and dices" it's way to the target. It's a non-explosive weapon.)

Regards,
Pat

[blazejos]

Poland officially retried Mi-14PL Sea helicopters in August 2025 so they were last seen on Parade during celebration of polish army day 15th of August here video 44min long https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoRFEDZmVYo you can see this helicopters last time. Possible should be unviable since September 2025. Link to article on Ukraine site https://militarnyi.com/en/news/polan...-last-mi-14pl/ where is also mentioned replacement AW-101 .

[DRG]

There are no Mi-14 in the Polish OOB. It's in Syria, Russia, Vietnam, Libya and North Korea

Apparently it should also be in Poland, Georgia and Ukraine

It should also not be in service now with Russia but it is in the game..... it should also have been in ther East German OOB and these

Former operators
Bulgaria

Cuba

East Germany

Ethiopia

Germany

Russia

South Yemen

Soviet Union

Yugoslavia

Pakistan


Finding the start end dates should be SUCH fun

ON THE LIST

[blazejos]

I try help with some data let's start with

Poland
First six Helicopters Mi-14PŁ arrived in 1981 no month mentioned
in 1983 next six and in 1984 four in variant Mi-14PS. Two were lost so in 1990 two additional used ones were buy from Soviet Union. Around 2000-2005 Polish Mi-14 both variants were modernised to Mi-14PŁMK with new torpedo's overhaul of avionics and new system for fights with submarines. First they were plans to retried them in 2017-2018 but they serve until September 2025.

DDR
First nine Mi-14PŁ delivered in years 1979-1981. then six Mi-14BT in 1984 after unification with west the serve briefly in Bundeswehr 14 machines on lost earlier in DDR times. They were retried in end of 1991. Two sold to USA in 1993 rest to museums.

Libya
To Libya were delivered 36 machines in variant Mi-14PŁ don't know date but must be after 1975 when this helicopters were introduced in USSR. Probably in the same time like in DDR? They were still in usage in 2007 https://www.airhistory.net/photo/518035/LC1413

Bulgaria
Introduced in 1979 and probably still in usage or like in Poland just retried page with Bulgarian Mi-14 data https://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/bul...g-nv2-home.htm

[DRG]

Wiki / FlightGlobal

"Out of the almost 300 Mi-14s produced at Kazan Helicopters between 1973 and 1986, it is estimated that just 44 examples remain in active service"

https://www.flightglobal.com/russian...119309.article

[blazejos]

on russian version site of wikipedia are dates when this helicopters were in service and how many is still in usage
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B8-14

[DRG]

Thanks

Interesting can-o-worms this opened up

The entries that are in this game for this thing probably go back to the very beginning and the passenger capacity is much too high which means adjusting the carry capacity then checking sceanrios to see if they are used and what they are carring

I know it can be done........... I just have to pry open that segment of my memory that has not been pried open in a long time to remember how

This has not been a good year for both Andy and I medically. There are a lot of things I used to know and do automatically...........not so much now. It's like I have to set new pathways for certain memories

[FASTBOAT TOUGH]

Well Poland was correct in not having the Mi-14PL/Mi-14 PL 'Strike' because they are the NAVAL variants of the Mi-8 which is the land version as used by the Russian military initially.

As I believe Don mentioned here we go again with legacy issues as I would come across years ago when working through the ABRAMS throughout the whole USA OOB. It was so bad I couldn't even get it into the Fastboat Patch Thread there was so much all the work was done within the MBT Thread when Suhiir asked me to take on the USMC M1A1 FEP.

Anyway we cleared a handful of slots along the way. And now we can do the same for all the other countries including Russia that has them (Mi-14PL/Mi-14 PL 'Strike').

About those other countries including Russia, they all have one thing in common they're all on major bodies of water the Baltic, Black and South China Seas, Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The Mi-14-PL early in my Submarine career could've represented my worst nightmare-why?
Mi-14PL (protivo-lodoctinyi) ('Haze-A'): Basic ASW version; four crew; large undernose radome; OKA-2 retractable sonar in starboard rear of planing bottom, forward of two probable sonobuoy or signal flare chutes; APM-60 towed Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) bird stowed against rear of fuselage pod (moved to lower position on some aircraft); weapons include one AT-1 ASW or APR-2 torpedo, one 1kT 'Skat' nuclear depth bomb or eight PLAB-250, PLAB-50-64 or PLAB-MK depth charges or OMAB-25-120 or OMAB-MK in enclosed bay in bottom of hull; VAS-5M-3 liferaft (in all versions).

Your head would "spin" knowing how many naval tactical nukes were in the Med at any one time. The above info is from ref. 1.

Concerning the Mi-14PL "Strike" the Kh-23 (AS-7 Kerry) was ONLY used on these helicopters for anti-ship operations.

Land use by the Russian AF was on both the Mig-21/24.

My further knowledge of this platform and weapons (And others.) comes from my several months of operating in the Med in the Summer of'87.
https://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/mi-14.php
https://everything.explained.today/Kh-23_Grom/
https://web.archive.org/web/20240117...il_mi8_hip.htm
(From next to bottom of the ref.-"Mil has also produced a shore-based Mi-8 derivative as the Mi-14 Haze for a variety of naval roles including anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue and mine countermeasures. The most significant current operator is the Russian naval aviation.")
https://aviationnews.eu/news/2025/08...es-of-service/

Merry Christmas! Extra slots along with some aspirin with lots of water.

If I would've presented this helo to Don for SUBMISSION he would've kicked my !?!

Regards,
Pat