Zvezda 7224 Ka-52 'Alligator'

The Kamov Ka-52 (in the NATO code: Hokum B, Russian: Alligator) was and still is a Russian-made attack helicopter of metal-composite construction, with a landing gear retracted in flight, in a rare coaxial twin-rotor system. The drive is provided by two Izotow TV-3-117WK turbine engines with a nominal power of 2,230 HP each. The flight of the first prototype took place in June 1997, and serial production started in 2008 and is still in progress at Arseniewskie Zakłady Lotnicze "Progress".

The Kamov Ka-52 was developed as a far-reaching development of the Ka-50. First of all, in the Ka-52, emphasis was placed on increasing the ability to command helicopter formations on the battlefield, while maintaining the existing combat capabilities of the Ka-50. The basic changes between the Ka-52 and Ka-50 consist in a completely different shape of the front of the fuselage (the Ka-52 has a cabin for two crew members, KA-50 - only for one person!), Changing the armor, adding a completely different avionics and information systems, the use of more perfect composites. Permanent armament is a 30mm cannon, and AT-13 or AT-16 anti-tank guided missiles are out-of-the-box. Thanks to its qualities, the Ka-52 is at least comparable to the AH-64D / E Apache. At the moment (2017), the main user of this helicopter is the armed forces of the Russian Federation. The machine was also exported to South Korea and Egypt. The Ka-52 underwent its baptism of fire in March 2016 in Syria.