New Mi-35Ms From Russia.

Nigeria is so desperate for attack helicopters to support counter-insurgency operations that it has ordered new Mil Mi-35Ms from Russia.

Bought at least one more used Mi-24 from Ukraine, tried - and failed - to acquire surplus Bell AH-1 Cobras and has recently taken delivery of two Mi-35Ps that have been upgraded into 'Super Hinds' by a South African company.

New Mi-35Ms From Russia.

Mi-24/35 helicopters, one of which had clearly been upgraded. However, no country markings can be seen on the aircraft and their two-tone desert camouflage is similar to one used by several air forces, including Nigeria's.

The upgrade consists of a reconfigured nose section to accommodate a new 20 mm gun (either a Nexter M693/F2 or the version license-built by South Africa's Denel) and an electro-optical turret: a very similar package to the one that South Africa's Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE) fitted to Algeria Mi-24s around the turn of the century.

Designed to improve the helicopter's firepower and ability to operate at night and in adverse weather conditions, the ATE upgrade also included new avionics and the integration of Denel Ingwe laser-guided missiles.

However, the Paramount Group, which took over ATE in 2013 and renamed it Paramount Advanced Technologies,It has not been involved in upgrading any helicopters for Nigeria.

Footage broadcast on Ukraine's Sumy TV in October 2014 prompted speculation that the upgrade was carried out in that country rather than South Africa. It showed a Mi-24 fitted with the same nose section being worked on at Ukraine's Konotop Aircraft Repair Plant.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Izyum Instrument Plant has suggested that it might be providing optics for the upgraded helicopters by using a photograph of one of the ATE Mi-24s next to an image of its PN-B laser designator. The ATE version was fitted with a Denel Optronics Argos electro-optical system.

The PN-B could be used in conjunction with Ukrainian-made weapons, such as the Bar'er-V anti-tank missile or AR-8L guided rocket.

Nigeria's apparent acquisition of at least one unmodified Ukrainian Mi-24 was revealed by a photography taken by an aviation enthusiast near Kiev in December. It showed a Mi-24 with a Nigerian Air Force roundel and the previously unseen serial number NAF 261 in flight.

The State Department confirmed in November that the United States had blocked the transfer of AH-1 Cobras to Nigeria due to concerns that about the Nigeria military's ability to maintain the helicopters and its human rights record. A Nigerian newspaper reported that the helicopters would have come from Israel, which retired its last AH-1s in 2013 for budgetary reasons.

The only Nigerian attack helicopter acquisitions reported to the UN Register of Conventional Arms in the last decade were three Mi-24s from Ukraine in 2008 and two more from Belarus in 2010.