CIA GAINS POSSESSION OF SOVIET HELICOPTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302060002-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 25, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 13, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

I
ST Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302060002-2
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RADIO TV REPORTS, INC,
4701 WILLARD AVENUE, CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND 20815 [phone]
FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS STAFF
PROGRAM NBC Nightly News STAlla\J WRC TV
NBC Network
DATE
March 13, 1987 7:00 PM ON Washington, DC
SUBJECT CIA Gains Possession of Soviet Helicopter
GARRICK UTLEY: The MI-24 is the Soviet Union's premier
helicopter gunship, a highly effective weapon that has seen
action in Afghanistan and in Nicaragua. Now, however, the
Soviets may be forced to go back to their drawing board.
NBC's Fred Francis has found out that the CIA has
obtained one of these prized helicopters.
FRED FRANCIS: According to Pentagon sources, it is a
major intelligence coup. The CIA's possession of the Soviet
MI-24 helicopter is changing the course of the war in Afghanistan
and could prove to be a valuable military advantage in any
East-West conflict.
Two MI-24's, called the Flying Tank, were flown into
Pakistan in July, 1985 by defectors from the Soviet supported
Afghan army. The Soviets demanded they be returned. But
Pakistan secretly gave at least one of the helicopters to the
CIA.
The MI-24 is the pride of the Soviet army. It is
heavily armored and can fly at speeds of 200 miles per hour,
making it the fastest helicopter in the world. It fires cannons,
missiles and machine guns. In Nicaragua, the MI-24 helicopter
has killed and wounded hundreds of contra rebels and is one
reason the contras have not been effective in combat.
In Afghanistan, until recently, the MI-24 was the weapon
most feared by the mujaheddin guerrillas. But after the CIA got
hold of the MI-24, it was able to discover its weakness.
According to Pentagon sources, the CIA has been able to figure
OFFICES IN WASHINGTON DC ? NEW YORK ? LOS ANGELES ? CHICAGO ? DETROIT ? AND OTHER PRINCIPAL CTIES
I Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302060002-2
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302060002-2
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out how to outsmart the defensive system of the MI-24 by making a
few changes in the American Stinger missile supplied to the
mujaheddin. As a result, in the Afghan war, intelligence
specialists report in the past six months, the Soviets have lost
at least five aircraft a week, many of them the once formidable
MI-24.
Fred Francis, NBC News, the Pentagon.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302060002-2