Russia To Start Production Of Ka-52 Combat Helicopters

Russia To Start Production Of Ka-52 Combat Helicopters (NSI News Source Info) CHKALOVSKY (Moscow Region) - December 27, 2008: The Russian government has approved the production of Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters at a plant in the Far East, the Air Force chief said on Friday. A new-generation Ka-52 Alligator combat helicopter making a demonstration flight over the airfield at the Progress Aviation Plant in Arsenyev. The multi-role Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter is an improved derivative of the two-seat mass-produced Ka-50 Black Shark attack helicopter The Ka-52 is a twin-seat derivative of the Ka-50 Hokum-A attack helicopter, and is designed primarily for reconnaissance and target designation purposes. It is similar to the U.S. AH-64 Apache attack helicopter. "The Russian government has decided to approve the production of the first batch of Ka-52 helicopters at the Arsenyevsk plant," Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin. Deliveries of the first 12 Ka-52 Hokum-Bs to the Russian Air Force will start in 2009. According to Zelin, the Russian Air Force will receive more than 100 new helicopters, including the Ka-52 and the Mi-28N Night Hunter, over the next four years.