In World War II, helicopters were used sporadically (to adjust artillery fire and other auxiliary purposes). The military in all countries of the world did not attach much importance to these eccentric machines, believing that they are too vulnerable and capricious, and their flight characteristics are completely unsuitable for battle. In 1948, the command of the American army refused to buy them, considering helicopters an expensive and useless toy. It is impossible to say that the leadership of the Soviet armed forces treated them differently.
The war in Korea, which began two years later, fundamentally changed the attitude towards rotorcraft. It is difficult to even calculate how many American soldiers were saved thanks to simple and small ambulance helicopters carrying the wounded on external suspensions (one person on each side of the transparent cabin).
The Vietnam War expanded the scope of a new type of aircraft. Along with the “Huey” UH-1, designed to transport manpower and armed with fairly simple firearms, there were combat helicopters designed to launch assault attacks. The military transport capabilities of rotorcraft that made millions of missions and transported tens of millions of soldiers were of great importance. In the conditions of mobile warfare, such a quality of helicopters as the ability to dispense with a runway acquired special meaning.
Attack helicopters "Cobra" AN-1, armed with rockets and a 40-mm cannon, acquired in general the look that makes it possible to distinguish modern attack helicopters at a glance: a narrow fuselage with armored glass and a two-seat cockpit and the absence of any other functions, not related to the main goal - enemy fire defeat.
Rotorcraft also developed in the Soviet Union. Mi-24 combat helicopters, the development of which began in the late sixties, according to the plan of the customer, the Ministry of Defense, had to combine two main functions - attack and transport. Like the American "Cobra", which borrowed the power plant from the Iroquois - "Huey", the Soviet Mi-24 was equipped with a screw and engine of the proven and reliable Mi-8. How well it turned out, time has shown. These combat helicopters serve in the armies of many countries (and were used in various wars). They have their own drawbacks, but also not take away the advantages.
The Apache AN-64 helicopter outlined the development direction of a new generation of military rotary-wing aircraft designed to destroy enemy armored vehicles using ultra-precise technological fire systems. The design bureaus of different countries (from Russia to the Republic of South Africa) went along this path. Second-generation combat helicopters are characterized by high survivability due to the reservation and rational layout of vital components, powerful weapons equipped with intelligent fire control systems, and the presence of tools that make them difficult to detect.
Second-generation combat helicopters of Russia are represented by Ka-50 and Mi-28 aircraft, surpassing their foreign counterparts in a number of flight performance indicators.