In just 70 hours, more than 60 soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment have pulled off one of the most brazen military heists in recent history. A top-secret top-secret mission, dubbed Operation Mount Hope III, went off without a hitch, despite the threat of sandstorms and the looming Libyan army. Without firing a single shot, they were able to steal one of the Soviet Union’s most prized possessions: a Mil Mi-25 Hind D attack helicopter.
Chad-Libya War
Operation Mount Hope III took place shortly after the end of the Chad-Libyan War that raged across Chad in 1978-1987.
Tensions between the two began a decade ago with the rise of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. As part of the siege of power, Gaddafi claimed what he known as the Auzou Strip, his 44,000 square miles of land consisting almost entirely of the Sahara Desert, along the Chad-Libyan border. With support from the Eastern Bloc, he trained and armed rebel groups in Chad. Front de liberation nationale du Chad (FROLINAT).
On 27 August 1971, Chad accused Egypt and Libya of supporting military action. coup d’état Against President François Tombalbay. When that failed, Tombalbay cut all diplomatic ties with Libya and Egypt and called on Libyan dissident groups to relocate to the country.In response, Colonel Gaddafi turned his FROLINAT into a true Chadian. The government decided to officially recognize it.
The two countries resumed diplomatic relations in 1972 when Chad agreed to cede the Aouzou Strip to Libya in exchange for £40 million. Chad and Libya signed a treaty of friendship in December 1972 to formally trade.
By 1978, the new peace relations between Chad and Libya had all but dissolved. The former became a war zone with French-backed Chadian groups and her Libyan-backed FROLINAT. France unfortunately intervened in the conflict, which lasted until her 1980s.
At the beginning of 1987, the Libyan army was still building up impressive numbers: 8,000 troops and 300 tanks. However, they had lost the support of Chad’s allies, who had previously provided assault infantry and reconnaissance units. Without this help, Libya was left high and dry in the desert.
Meanwhile, the Chadian Armed Forces (FANT) has increased its military strength to 10,000 troops and equipped it with fast, sand-resistant Toyota pick-up trucks in preparation for the desert war. Missile d’Infanterie Léger Antique (Milan) Anti-tank guided missile. The vehicle has dubbed this part of the conflict the “Toyota War”.
Mil Mi-25 Hind D
The Toyota War ended in September 1987 after the Chadians overtook the Libyans and regained control of the Auzo Strip. The Libyans lost thousands of troops and $1.5 billion worth of tanks, weapons and equipment destroyed or abandoned during the withdrawal. Twenty of his aircraft were also stranded at the Ouadi Doum airbase, and one of his in particular caught the attention of the US military.
The Mil Mi-25 Hind-D was one of the most advanced Soviet helicopters of its time, and the United States had nothing like it. Dubbed the “devil’s tank” by the Afghan military, the vehicle is both adaptable and invulnerable, acting as an attack and transport chopper. At the wingtips he has six suspended ordnance units, equipped with his quadruple YakB-12.7 machine guns and can carry up to 12 anti-tank missiles.
The Mi-25 Hind D is also heavily armed, with a sophisticated high-explosive fragmentation warhead capable of penetrating thick armor. Weighing in at 18,000 pounds, this beast is fast and adept at combat and troop transport, making it the ultimate chopper and extremely difficult to steal from beneath Rivia.
Operation Mount Hope III
After negotiations between US, French and Chadian forces, US forces were given permission to recover two Mi-25s. One of them was at Ouadi Dome. The mission was assigned to the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, also known as “Night Stalkers.”
Their work presented some unique challenges. Not only did they have to fly to the area in the middle of the night, they also had to load and take off in a huge helicopter. In April 1988, the military began training in Boeing MH-47 Chinook helicopters around the New Mexico desert. One he had externally mounted six 1,900 liter water containers to mimic the weight of his Mi-25 Hind D.
On June 10, more than 60 people boarded a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy with two MH-47s in the cargo hold. The team left Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and flew to Chad’s N’Djamena International Airport where he unloaded a C-5 where he loaded two helicopters and departed at midnight on his 550-mile journey to Oadi Dome. Did.
Keeping the mission secret was the only way to succeed. Libyan forces remained in the target area and were able to obtain information easily. There was also concern that the Mi-25 Hind D would be bombed as part of a Soviet plan to thwart clandestine recovery operations such as Operation Mount Hope III.
At Ouadi Doum, the team was already on the ground preparing the helicopter for transport. One of his engines had a bullet hole in it, so it was deemed too dangerous to fly, so the rotors were removed in preparation for transport. MH-47 then arrived on the scene. Additional fuel tanks were removed and a Soviet chopper suspended below the American helicopter was lifted before a second helicopter was towed and safely lifted off.
Additional fuel tanks and rotor blades were flown in the Lockheed C-130 Hercules.
Just as they approached N’Djamena International Airport, the team was engulfed in a sandstorm that nearly obscured their view. Both MH-47s flew slowly within sight of each other to avoid collision as they confronted the onslaught of desert dust. Amazingly, they landed safely in his Mi-25 Hind D. Not a single bullet was fired and no one was left behind.
What happened to the Mil Mi-25 Hind D?
After the storm subsided, Mi-25 Hind Ds were loaded onto C-5s, and two MH-47s were loaded second.
The Soviet helicopters arrived at Fort Rucker, Alabama on June 16, 1988, where they were brought into flight and thoroughly evaluated to inform and train personnel on enemy capabilities. It also flew during training exercises and served as a counter force to US helicopters and soldiers on the ground.
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In 2012, the Mi-25 Hind D was rescued from a scrapyard and placed on display at the Southern Aviation Museum in Birmingham, Alabama, where it remains today.
