During its upgrade,
the Ka-52 helicopter will get a new long-range cruise missile codenamed ‘item
305’.
MOSCOW, June 11.
/TASS/. The Kamov Ka-52M upgraded combat helicopter armed with a new long-range
cruise missile is due to complete state trials by October 2022, according to
the data posted on the government’s procurement website on Thursday.
"Taking part in
state joint trials of upgraded Ka-52M helicopters. Finalizing the helicopters
following the results of the state joint trials. The time limits for the
contractual work: December 1, 2020 as its beginning and September 30, 2022 as
its completion," the documents say.
During its upgrade,
the Ka-52 helicopter will get a new long-range cruise missile codenamed ‘item
305,’ with which the Mi-28NM gunship was earlier armed with. The government
procurement materials indicate that the upgraded helicopter will get an
interface device for this missile, an airborne launcher and a command radio
link for employing the missile.
The upgraded
helicopter will also be furnished with a new round-the-clock sight system, the
latest onboard communications and data exchange systems, satellite navigation
equipment and other devices.
As the materials
indicate, the first two helicopters will be upgraded before the end of November
this year by re-equipping and finalizing the operational rotorcraft. The
gunships are due to enter flight tests before May 31, 2021.
A TASS source
reported in February that the upgrade would allow the Ka-52M to carry the
latest ‘item 305’ airborne cruise missiles with an operational range of up to
100 km. As another source in the domestic defense industry told TASS in March
2019, the latest Russian airborne missile ‘item 305’ was undergoing trials
aboard a Mi-28NM helicopter in a real warfare environment in Syria at that
time.
Russian Deputy
Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said in May last year that the Defense
Ministry was going to conclude a contract with Russian Helicopters Group
rotorcraft manufacturer (part of the state hi-tech corporation Rostec) on the
delivery of 114 Ka-52M helicopters.
Russian Helicopters
Group CEO Andrei Boginsky specified at the time that specialists were taking
into account the Syrian combat experience in developing the gunship and the
upgraded version would get new target detection and identification systems and
longer-range weapons.
By its weapons suite,
the Ka-52M will be standardized with the Mi family of helicopters. Compared to
the Ka-52, its upgraded version will feature enhanced protection, the chief
executive said.
Source: ITAR-TASS
11-06-2020
