"Product 305" will increase the combat power of the Ka-52 and Mi-28

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Right now, the Russian Aerospace Forces is gradually replacing the legendary Mi-24 Crocodiles with Mi-28 Night Hunter and Ka-52M Alligator attack helicopters. The latter, by the way, received a new complex of electronic equipment and weapons. At the same time, tests of his use of the short-range cruise missile "Product-305" reached the final stage, which brings the combat vehicle closer to the level of an attack aircraft.

Despite approximately the same size and similar purpose - to support the infantry, the "Night Hunter" and "Alligator" will not become competitors in the troops. On the contrary, both rotorcraft will complement each other.

It should be noted that in terms of armament, the Ka-52M looks more like a heavy tank, while the Mi-28 is a medium one. In addition, with a crosswind of up to 20 m / s, the "Night Hunter" is forced to maneuver, while the "Alligator", thanks to the coaxial scheme, is able to safely hover in the air.



The cruise missile "Product 305" will allow the Ka-52M to hit tanks and other armored vehicles at a distance of up to 100 km, turning the rotorcraft into a close analogue of an attack aircraft. Thus, the "Alligator", like a battering ram, will be able to break the enemy's defenses, and the "Night Hunter" will "clean up" the remaining pockets of resistance after sunset.

Russia plans to completely renew its fleet of attack helicopters by the end of this decade. At the same time, the Ka-52M and Mi-28 will serve in approximately equal quantitative proportions.

2 comments
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  1. assault 2019
    assault 2019
    +1
    26 June 2021 09: 25
    turning a rotorcraft into a close analogue of an attack aircraft.

    The VKS has more than two hundred attack aircraft, and by and large they have no idea what to do with them except how to send them to Syria or Central Asia. Modernization to the Su-25SM3 is proceeding extremely slowly, four attack aircraft a year, and in 10-15 years they plan to write off the remaining vehicles and in fact two assault regiments on the Su-25SM3 will remain in service. For the Su-25, they are constantly trying to find a replacement from the Su-34, then from the Yak-130.
    All this happens because the Su-25 was created not for the Air Force / Aerospace Forces, but for the army aviation and must operate in conjunction with attack helicopters.
    The combined arms armies should have both an assault air regiment and a helicopter regiment. The experience of their joint use was accumulated back in Afghanistan, and the Syrian company showed the need to cover attack aircraft and helicopters with fighters.
    In addition to the two Su-25SM3 squadrons, the staff of the assault regiment should include the MiG-29SMT squadron, which, despite their significant resource, also do not find use in the Aerospace Forces "as a suitcase without a handle."
  2. assault 2019
    assault 2019
    +2
    26 June 2021 09: 44
    In 15-20 years, a strike aviation complex will probably be created to support ground forces with the maneuverability of a helicopter and the speed of an attack aircraft, but for now, one should be careful about not the newest military equipment, but capable of significantly increasing the strike capabilities of the army echelon.