According to information released by the Russian press agency TASS on June 11, 2020, 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, June 11, 2020.

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Russian-made Kamov Ka-52M attack helicopter (Picture source Twitter account Spriter)

The Kamov Ka-52 Alligator is a Russian-made attack helicopter. The multi-role all-weather combat Ka-52 "Alligator" helicopter is a twin-seat derivative of the Russian-made attack helicopter Ka-50. The first prototype of the Ka-52 was unveiled at the aerospace event Aero India in 1996.

The Ka-52 Alligator is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics developed mainly by Concern Radioelectronic Technologies, also a Rostec company. The ECM (Electronic countermeasure) equipment is arranged in the pods at wingtips. The heliborne avionics suite enables the crew to perform flight control and air navigation round-the-clock and all the year round The surveillance and fire control systems, including TV, laser and thermal imaging equipment, enable the pilot to detect and defeat targets in the daytime and at night.

The new upgraded Ka-52M attack helicopter will get a new long-range cruise missile codenamed ‘item 305’. It 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. The Ka-52M is an upgrade version of the standard Ka-52 with enhanced protection.

A TASS source reported in February 2020 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.