MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax-AVN) - The first serial Mi-28N combat helicopter made its maiden flight, Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov told a news conference in Moscow Tuesday.
"The first flight of the serial Mi-28N helicopter made maiden flight on December 27, 2005," Mikhailov said.
Under the official flight test program the helicopter made 106 flights, of which 97 were taken into account. "The results of the tests provided firm groundwork for putting the aircraft in mass-production," he said.
According to Mikhailov, the state defense order provides for an acquisition of several Mi-28Ns for service with the Air Force.
He pointed out that the combat helicopter fleet is now made of several thousand helicopters in various modifications.
"As of now, Mi-24Vs are mostly used in fire-support of ground forces. The aircraft were employed widely and contributed greatly to the destruction of militants in Chechnya and other North Caucasian republics in the course of the antiterrorism operation," he said.