Operational history
Ka-50 took part in the Russian Army's operations against separatists 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.
[13]
It is unclear if the type has been used in combat since. It has participated in a number of exercises, including "Boundary 2004" in the Edelweiss mountain range in Kyrgyzstan during August 2004. 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 worked on the ground targets using its cannons and rockets.
[13]
India issued a request for proposal for 22 attack helicopters for the
Indian Air Force in May 2008.
[38] The Ka-50, the Mil Mi-28, and the
Eurocopter Tiger were the front-runners for this order as of October 2008.
[39] The tender though was eventually cancelled and later India announced a new tender, with revised conditions. Russia again offered the Mi-28N and Ka-52.
The
Russian Air Force has accepted 12 Ka-52 helicopters for operational service in 2011, and the total number of completed Ka-52s was already 65 units. 20 Ka-52 aircraft were located at the 575th Airbase
Chernigovsky District,
Eastern Military District. 16 were at 393rd "Sevastopol" Airbase
Korenovsk,
Southern Military District, 12 were transferred to newly formed 15th Army Aviation Brigade of the
Western Military District at the airport of
Ostrov, 8 -
Torzhok 344th Centre for Combat Training and Flight Personnel Training. Five test aircraft are owned by JSC "
Kamov"; two machines were lost in accidents.
[9] The K-52 was displayed to the international community at the 2013
Paris Air Show.
[40]
In 2013, the AAC "Progress" has completed the contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, signed in 2009, and would begin the next long-term contract for supplying 143 Ka-52, worth about 120 billion rubles (
US$≈3.5 bln)
Kamov Ka-50 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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