[FormerACLUmember]

Good luck with those flying death traps, guys.

[sukhoi-30mki]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5JepmD5BHU&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Guess you should also say that to the Pentagon which is helping the Afghans buy the same choppers. Which are also used by NATO for operations there.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=mro&id=news/Mi173278.xml&headline=Mi-17%20Upgrade%20Aims%20To%20Fill%20NATO%20Helo%20Gap

[James C. Bennett]

They are among the best high-altitude helicopters around, IIRC, and regularly used in the higher reaches of the Himalayas by the Indian military.

[Spktyr]

They’re actually fine (and better than some of ours) at high altitude and heavy lift. They just don’t do the gunship role well, and that’s fine - they do dustoff and cargo transport really, really well.

[org.whodat]

Do not confuse their helicopter's with our junk. Theirs work, like an AK, takes a beating and keeps on ticking.