- Russia's Ka-52 attack helicopter has been imposing a high cost on Ukraine's counteroffensive this summer.
- The threat imposed by the Russian aircraft led the Ukrainian media to nickname it "Putin's vulture."
- The Kremlin bills the Kamov Ka-52 as the "world's best helicopter gunship."
The Kamov Ka-52, an advanced Russian attack helicopter, has been touted by the Kremlin as the "world's best gunship," the Kyiv Post reported. The vehicle has been instrumental in Russia's attempts to thwart Ukraine's slow-moving counteroffensive, launched on June 4.
The helicopter, dubbed the "Alligator," is a cutting-edge Russian military machine.
The fearsome Ka-52 was designed by the Kamov Design Bureau, a division of Russian Helicopters, and cost upwards of $16 million.
It's a two-seat version derived from the Ka-50 attack helicopter. It is "renowned for its exceptional maneuverability. The Ka-52 is capable of eliminating ground targets such as armored and unarmored vehicles, tanks, slow-moving airborne targets, and personnel on the frontlines," according to Airforce Technology.
It can also serve as a surveillance platform and an aerial command center for a fleet of attack helicopters.
While some military experts say the US Apache helicopter is superior to the Ka-52, the Russian helicopter gunship is highly rated.
In its review of the top nine attack helicopters, Military-Today.com wrote: "The Ka-52 is one of the fastest and most maneuverable attack helicopters due to its two coaxial contra-rotating main rotors. The armor of this gunship withstands hits from 23 mm projectiles. Pilots are seated in ejection seats."
One Ka-52 had its tail blown off, but kept flying
The Ka-52 (Hokum-B) was preceded by the Ka-50 (Hokum) attack helicopter, which was first flew on June 25, 1997. Development of this original Kamov helicopter began in 1994.
The Ka-52 retains much of the same form, function, and armament capabilities as its forefather. It also includes a radar suite, the capacity for a second crew member, and an all-new designation. The commonality between models is about 85%.
The Alligator's coaxial main rotors arrangement (two three-bladed systems) negates the need for a countering tail rotor unit, which arguably helps battlefield survivability.
Indeed, proof of its robustness was demonstrated when a video surfaced on social media showing a Ka-52 helicopter with its tail torn off and the remnants of the vertical fin hanging perilously but still able to fly.
It is powered by two Klimov VK-2500 turboshaft engines. The avionics suite is modern and incorporates high levels of automation to reduce crew workloads, according to Military Factory.
The Ka-52 gives Russia a strategic advantage in the face of an armored assault
In June, Insider's Ryan Pickrell wrote that the Ka-52 Alligators were "emerging as a threat to Ukraine's ground forces that must be quickly engaged with air-defense missiles before they can eliminate its heavy armor, such as tanks and infantry fighting vehicles."
The helicopter, nicknamed "Putin's vulture" by Ukrainian media, has inflicted a heavy cost on Ukraine, according to UK defense intelligence, suggesting a strategic advantage for Russia in the face of an armored assault.
The UK Ministry of Defence wrote on Twitter that the Ka-52 HOKUM attack helicopter is "one of the single most influential Russian weapon systems" against Ukrainian forces' offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia.
In June, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a cockpit video of a Ka-52 destroying two Ukrainian tanks in 25 seconds using air-launched Anti-Tank Guided Missiles [ATGM]. However, military analysts suggested the tanks may have been abandoned when they were destroyed with such clinical precesion.
Ukraine has complained that the Ka-52s are kept flying thanks to imported parts.
"The Russian military-industrial complex should not have access to technology," said Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. The choppers are fitted with components from other countries, and sanctions should be strengthened to prevent this, according to Yermak.
How Ukraine is fighting back
The Ukrainian counteroffensive has started to demonstrate that it has adapted to the Ka-52 threat and said it shot down two Ka-52 attack helicopters in a single morning last week.
A video appears to show one of the Ka-52 attack helicopters being downed, revealing Russia's weakness, a former US general told Insider. It indicates that Moscow's pilots are inexperienced, as it shows the helicopter flying low enough to be susceptible to ground-launched missiles.
Putin's bungled invasion of Ukraine also hit helicopter pilots particularly hard in the early months of the war, killing off the most skilled helicopter pilots. "The best Ka-52 crews got shot down early in the war while trying to penetrate deep behind Ukrainian lines," said The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, a military think tank.
—OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 18, 2023
Man-portable air-defense systems, including American-made Stingers, have been among the most effective weapons at killing Ka-52 crews, Forbes reports. However, stocks of the Stinger, a hand-held antiaircraft missile, are reportedly at critically low levels following limited production in the US and over a year of deliveries to Ukraine.
The latest projections from independent monitoring group Oryx, which only counts combat losses confirmed through open sources, show that Russia has lost 41 Kamov Ka-52 Alligator helicopter of the approximately 100 it has in its arsenal.