How Did the CIA Steal the Russian Hind-D Helicopter in the Dead of the Night?

If the dirty work is to be done from the air, the U.S. military’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, a.k.a. “Night Stalkers” comes into play.

Here is where these two forces come together, deserves to be removed from the history books an epic operation: Operation Mount Hope III.

The years 1987 and 1988 were years when the Cold War was still hot.

One of the Cold War conflicts was between Chad and Libya. During this conflict, the Libyans hastily retreated to Ouadi Doum; A Soviet-made “Mi-25 Hind-D” helicopter, many other vehicles and equipment were left behind.

Heavily armed helicopter, A matter of great interest for the USA and Western countries had happened.

The Americans negotiated with the Chadians to seize the helicopter.

But the task was not simple. Libyan forces were still in the area and there was no public transport of Hind-D international sensation and diplomatic problems It could lead.

Acting secretly and boldly It had to be, that’s where “Night Stalkers” came into play.

The mission had three phases: preliminary reconnaissance to collect low-value items, Rehearsal in the New Mexico Desert and the actual theft operation.

with Chinook helicopters After intense training, It was decided that MH-47s could get the job done.

As planned, the Chinooks were unloaded from the C-5 Galaxy cargo plane at midnight.

While the French Air Force provides air protection; USAF offered fuel support via C-130. Meanwhile, Libyan forces were waiting a few kilometers away, not understanding what was happening.

Despite all the obstacles, the pilots successfully completed their mission. When they arrived at the base, the Chinook pilots celebrated with pride in achieving a great success. Hind-D was delivered to the USA within 36 hours.

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