I'd furthermore suggest, in addition to what Lambda has already said, for your initial Mi-24s, the ones not wired for ATGMs, you might consider the Mi-24A as opposed to the D version, which was more of a pure gunship. Hind-A, with its big greenhouse canopy is delightfully retro, and a good stepping stone to the more advanced D model. They'd probably also be available rather cheap, too.
I had wondered about that too, but the 24D made more sense with the IOC in 1983, and the -24A saw fairly
limited export. I don't recall it ever being surplussed for cheap later on, since there were comparatively few around. IMO it would have gone to the CCCN only if there had been an insurgency to suppress between 1975 and 1980 or so.
Granted, it looks way dramatic and deserves all the illustration it can get, but the Mi-4 -> Mi-8 -> Mi-8T -> Mi-24D pathway I described above still feels more plausible.
Of course, any initial delivery of Hinds (whether -A or -D) would be limited in quantity anyway, and wouldn't disrupt the evolution of the bulk of the helicopter force, which would e.g. get partly converted from Mi-8T to -8TV in parallel to improve fire support on the cheap. So both pathways can co-exist after all.
Ok I will swap out the Mi-4 for the Mi-8. I'm somewhat uninitiated when it comes to helictopers, you'll have to forgive me.
As a starter source on the helicopters involved, may I suggest
Greg Goebel's AirVectors.net, with detailed historic write-ups on the
Mi-2, Mi-4,
Mi-8, and
Mi-24.
I intend to have relations with non-Comintern nations to start improving around the early 90's, after the development of a small nuclear arsenal leads to the signing of several nuclear treaties, and the collapse of the Soviet Union leads to the CCCN seeking help from western nations and transitioning more towards a left wing democracy rather than a communist dictatorship. Kind of like china.
Makes sense. My question, however, was more geared towards a left-wing unaligned posture similar to Yugoslavia, Romania, Libya, North Korea, etc. i.e. with a full-on Communist regime but without taking orders from Moscow. Now the emergence of your nuclear program is going to be a whole other can of worms...
I will also take this opportunity to say that I am NOT a communist! This is just an AU and I don't sympathize with the Soviet Union or any of the Comintern states. I am rather right-wing when it comes to these sorts of things.
Nah, we all know you're just saying that because Uncle Fidel can't protect you anymore!
Jokes aside, I don't think anyone on SB ascribes political intent to AU designs; maybe people tend to gravitate towards politically extreme fictional countries like the gravitate towards ginormous battleships: because they are more spectacular. No need to subscribe to the underlying ideology to appreciate a country's design acumen and ambition.
A neutrality disclaimer is never wasted, I know I spent enough time on mine, but you will be judged more by any specific outburst of enthusiasm than by the color of your AU flag. Also, the less you are politically/patriotically attached to your AU nation, the lower the risk you run to turn it into a geopolitical Mary Sue, which is never good for timeline quality.
Edited for spelling