Mil (мил) 26, NATO reporting name Halo.

The Mil 26 Halo was developed in the 1970s, to replace the older Mil 6 Hook. Mil is now part of the larger Russian Helicopters (JCS Russian Helicopters) ‘holding company’.

Video report, Mi-26 lifts its predecessor the Mi-6:

On 22NOV2021, Russian Helicopters-Rostec announced a deal for mass production of the new Mi-26T2V, for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

United Kingdom based Air Charter Service explains why their favorite helicopter is the Mil 26:

In 2020, Peru sold off its aged Mi-26Ts to a Cyprus-based aviation junk yard company for the price of scrap.  Peru bought the Halos as used from the airline Aeroflot. They only operated in Peru for a few years before sitting abandoned for more than a decade.

Poor quality video of an Abakan Avia operated Mi-26 (Ми-26) crashing in April 2020, Novy Urengoy – Vankor field, Yamal Peninsula, Russia. Three crew wounded. It looks like the pilot came in too fast with the nose too high causing the tail to hit the ground:

Abakan Avia Mi-26 heavy helicopter made hard landing at Yamal peninsula in North Russia this morning pic.twitter.com/HvzPH8Fa6U

— Maksim Pyadushkin (@M_Pyadushkin) April 25, 2020

At the end of 2019, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/Russian Helicopters announced a year of testing for its new Mi-26T2V.

2019 video, lifting a An-74:

In 2019, reportedly India finally made a deal with Russia to rebuild their surviving three Mi-26 Halos. The hope is that the aged beyond their life span Mi-26s will get another 10 to 15 years of life. India was one of the first foreign buyers of the Mi-26, during the Cold War.

In January 2019, a Mi-26 transported many materials to the Bureysky reservoir, which had been blocked by a landslide in December 2018 creating a flood threat, Russian Defense Ministry video:

TASS video of UTair Mi-26 moving an old Tu-134 ‘gate guard’ in Tyumen, Russia, 2019:

Russian Defense Ministry video of load-up of Mi-26 during Vostock 2018 war games, September 2018:

TASS video of Russian military Mi-26 practicing to fight fires, May 2018:

In October 2017, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the Mi-26 would be modernized to ‘T2V’ standard, allowing it to operate in bad weather, at night, and will have a self defense system against guided anti-aircraft missiles.

Also in October 2017, Russian Helicopters-Rostec announced their plans to begin helicopter maintenance operations in Mexico, to service the growing number of Russian helicopters in Mexico, including at least two Mi-26T.

VGTRK-T24 detailed video report about the Mi-26, 28APR2017:

By 2015, the Indian Air Force was down to just one operable Mi-26, with only 1-hundred hours of life left in it. India first bought the Mi-26 Halo in the 1980s, during the undeclared/unofficial global Cold War, acquiring a total of four. Apparently the Indian government thinks it is too costly to rebuild/replace the Mi-26.

2013(?) video report, checking out a new build Mi-26:

In early 2011, the Australian Department of Defence hired Russian contractor Vertical T to fly Mi-26 Halo transport missions in Afghanistan, specifically in Uruzgan Province.

In December 2010, an Indian Air Force Mi-26 crashed at Jammu Airport/Air Force Station. The crew of seven were wounded, technical problems are suspected as the cause.

In 1993, the Mi-26 Halo was used to shuttle supplies and personnel to areas outside Mogadishu, Somalia, during the United States led United Nation’s Operation Continue Hope.

Soviet era video report, one of the first production Mi-26 arrives at Vystavka Dostizheniy Narodnovo Khozyaystva (VDNKh, ВДНХ), Moscow, 1985:

Early 1980s Soviet AviaExport promotional film about the then new Mi-26:

Cold War ‘Fake News’ Helicopter:

UH-1H ‘HUEY-HIND’

Cold War Helicopters: KAMOV 25 ‘HORMONE’