Boeing Factory

The Flying Tank

Mi-28N "The Night Hunter" has a special system of pilots protection and can "see" an enemy at 35km distance even in darkness. Test pilots call it "fighter-helicopter" and ordinary people know it as "a flying tank".
Night vision goggles of the helicopter allow a pilot to fight even in the night time. It is equipped with an impressive armoury reserve. An inbuilt movable gun can totally destroy an armored personal carrier in 10 shots. The rockets complex "Igla" is intended for destruction of helicopters and drones. However, the main power of "the Night Hunter" is in its anti-tank missile "Ataka" against which all tanks are powerless. more images after the break...

The construction of the helicopter ensures the safety of the crew. The armoured cab withstands even direct hits of 12.7 mm bullets. A seat of the pilot is higher than the seat of the shooter so the vehicle has been made flatter and less vulnerable.

Mi-28N helicopters are already coming into operation of the Russian army. The Caucasus and The Russian Far East will see them first.

"The Flying Tank" applies a complex of on-board radio-electronic and instrumentation equipment that allows to use weapons and cope with flight and navigation tasks day and night in any meteorogical conditions at the lowest possible height using automatic terrain and flying around obstacle.

Tropical Island Of Fiji

Flying Over a Strip of Beach

Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM) (also known as Sint Maarten International Airport) serves the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin. In 2007, the airport handled 1,647,824 passengers and 103,650 aircraft movements. The airport serves as a hub for Windward Islands Airways and is the major gateway for the smaller Leeward Islands, including Anguilla, Saba, St. Barthélemy and St. Eustatius. It is named after Juliana of the Netherlands, who as crown princess landed here in 1944, the year after the airport opened. There is also an airport on the French side of the island near Marigot, called Aéroport de Grand Case or L'Espérance Airport.The airport was started as a military airstrip in 1942. It was converted to a civilian airport in 1943. In 1964 the airport was remodeled and relocated, with a new terminal building and control tower. The facilities were upgraded in 1985 and 2001. More Images after the break...

Aero India 2009

VINTAGE WONDER

A Tiger Moth vintage aircraft, which a defence spokesman says was used by the Indian Air Force during World War II, is displayed at Aero India 2009 at Yelahanka air force station.

WALK THE TALK

US Air Force airmen walk past the aircraft on display at Yelahanka air base.

BIRD'S EYE VIEW

IAF's transport behemoths and air-to-air refuelling aircraft had the spectators in awe with their sheer size and functionality mid-air.

In this pic: Aircrafts and helicopters are on display at Yelahanka air base on the eve of Aero India 2009 in the outskirts of Bangalore.

MEGA AIR SHOW

With a security blanket in place to ward off terror attacks, about 5,000 people, including diplomats and air chiefs from the world over, were treated to a two-hour spectacular show by scores of IAF pilots.

WHAT LIES BENEATH

A member of UK's Omega Tanker team works underneath the aircraft at Yelahanka air base on the eve of Aero India 2009.

STRIKE A POSE

The five-day Aero India 2009, which began on Wednesday, has drawn 592 exhibitors, including 289 exhibitors from 25 foreign countries.

In this pic: An Indian Air Force official poses for photographs with US fighter aircraft F-16 parked at Yelahanka air base on the eve of Aero India 2009 in the outskirts of Bangalore.