(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - September 16, 2011: Russia’s state-of-the-art Kamov Ka-52 combat helicopter has passed all tests to be approved for deployment on Navy vessels. The aircraft will be used with Mistral-class carriers, which Russia buys from France.
During a two-week trial in the Barents Sea, a modified Ka-52 successfully performed various maneuvers, including landing on a moving vessel. The aircraft’s landing gear proved sufficiently robust to withstand the tilting of the ship. The helicopter was piloted by Naval aviation veteran, Vitaly Lebedev.
“The main part of the work is over. The helicopter has been tested in all modes of operation,”
said a statement from the Northern Fleet, which provided the anti-submarine ship “Vice-Admiral Kulakov” for the tests.
The military believes the Ka-52 has proved itself capable of being deployed from any suitable vessel of the same class or bigger. That includes the French Mistral-class helicopter carriers, two of which Russia bought earlier this year. Moscow is in negotiations with Paris about building two similar vessels in Russia on license. The Ka-52 is tipped to become the helicopter of choice for the French vessels.
The Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator” is a two-seat twin-rotor multitask combat aircraft based on the design of the Ka-42 helicopter. It has a top speed of 310 kph and practical range of 520 kilometers. It has an advanced targeting system, which allows distribution of targets between several helicopters acting as a team.
Operational history
Ka-50 took part in the Russian Army's operations against rebels in the Chechen Republic. In December 2000, a pair of production Ka-50s arrived to the area. With the Ka-50s was a Ka-29, to provide reconnaissance and target designation. On 6 January 2001, the Ka-50 used live weapons against a real enemy for the first time. On 9 January, at the entry into a mountain gorge in the area of a settlement named Komsomolskoye, a single Ka-50 accompanied by an Mi-24 used S-8 unguided rockets to destroy a warehouse full of ammunition belonging to Chechen insurgents. On 6 February, in the forest covered mountain area to the south of the village of Tsentoroj, the strike group composed of two Ka-50s and the sole Ka-29 discovered and, from a range of 3 km, destroyed a fortified camp of insurgents using two "Vikhr" guided missiles. 14 February, saw a similar strike group carrying out a "hunting" mission in the area of Oak-Yurt and Hatun. In difficult conditions, pilots found and destroyed eight targets. These missions tested the type's airframe, as well as its on-board systems and armament. Its successful performance in difficult, mountainous terrain once again confirmed the usefulness of the many advanced features of the Ka-50's design, including its power and maneuverability.
It is unclear if the type has been used in combat since. It has participated in a number of exercises, including "Boundary 2004" which took place on the Edelweiss mountain range in Kyrgyzstan, in August 2004. Once again the "Hokum" demonstrated its advantages by operating at a high altitude and an air temperature of more than 30 °C. A Ka-50 provided cover for the landing of troops and then successfully worked on the ground targets using its cannons and rockets.
Ka-50 Bort 22 with a distinctive "Black Shark" livery was lost in a crash during 1998. Its pilot Maj.Gen. Boris Vorobyov was killed in the crash.
India issued a request for proposal for 22 attack helicopters for the Indian Air Force in May 2008. The Kamov Ka-50 along with Mil's Mi-28 and Eurocopter's Tiger were the front-runners for this order as of October 2008. The tender though was eventually cancelled and later India announced a new tender, with revised conditions. Russia again offered Mi-28N and Ka-52.
Russia is receiving Ka-52s as of 2 January 2011.
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