The world’s biggest helicopter that costs £20m and can lift a passenger jet

A massive Russian-built helicopter is the largest in serial production in the world and is so powerful it can

‘s Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter first took to the skies in 1977 and still far outstrips its more famous American equivalent, the CH-47 Chinook helicopter, in terms of power and payload capacity, as per .

Also known as the Halo, the chunky chopper has had plenty of revamps since it emerged in Soviet times and is now an important asset in while also being used by ‘s forces.

The largest helicopter ever was another soviet creation, the Mil V-12, but it didn’t go into serial production like the Mi-26, which were also sold commercially outside of .

Mi-26’s superior power makes it a source of national pride, and it plays a starring role in Victory Day parade celebrations held every year in Moscow’s Red Square alongside ‘s other notable helicopters like Mi-35M transport/attack choppers, Ka-52 “Alligator”s (used for reconnaissance and strikes) as well as Mi-8AMTSh multirole gunships.

At $26m (£20.7m), the Mi-26 is much cheaper than the Chinook which India recently bought a shipment of for $76m (£59m)-a-piece, as per .

Also known as the Halo, the chunky chopper has had plenty of revamps since it emerged in Soviet times and remains an important asset in ‘s war machine, while also being used by ‘s forces.

The Mi-26 aircraft is powered by two 11,000 horsepower turboshaft engines, and is able to lug some 44,000 pounds of cargo.

Mi-26s have been used to pick up all sorts of weighty aircraft, including a stranded Chinook, and even a retired Tupolev Tu-134 Russian passenger plane that was being transported after being retired from active service.

But one of its most unique hauling achievements was recovering a whoolly mammoth that had been preserved for over 20,000 years in the icily-cold conditions of the Siberian tundra.

Scientists wanted to study to creature, and the chopper managed to transport the 20-tonne block of ice it was encased in to a lab in Khatanga, .

The load was thought to have been at the upper limit of the MI-26’s capacity, with reports that it underwent checks for deformations in the airframe from carrying the huge ancient creature.

The military versions of the helicopter are said to be able to haul 90 combat-ready troops, or 63 seated civilians, and even 60 stretchers, as per Avia-.

It means it has enough capacity to rival the the US’ collossal Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane, among the aircraft used by British and US forces to hastily evacuate civilians during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

In 1982 the helo set a world record for the heaviest mass lifted to 2,000 metres by carrying a 56,768-kilogram load.

It also said to be superb in a firefighting role and can use two specially designed 8-tonne buckets to drop 16 tonnes of water or single VSU-15 bucket which can discharge 15 tonnes, as per .