MOSCOW. April 11 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Defense Ministry is going to procure up to ten Mi-28N Night Hunter attack helicopters under the state defense program through 2015, Mikhail Korotkevich, deputy director general of the Mil helicopter plant, told a Wednesday news conference in Moscow.
"From 2007 to 2015 the Defense Ministry will be buying up to ten such helis annually," he said.
The helicopter is taking official flight tests at the present time, he added.
Kamov JSO Director General Igor Pshenichny told the news conference that Mi-28N helicopters should not be counterbalanced or compared with Ka-50 and Ka-52 aircraft. According to him, the healthy competition between the two design schools is beneficial for both, as its helps them penetrate foreign markets.
"The competition we have is of technical nature. There is no place for political rivalry here," Pshenichny said, adding that he is satisfied with the fact that no administrative pressure is exerted on Kamov from the Defense Ministry.
When asked about the numbers of helicopters the Defense Ministry is going to buy for its service from Kamov, he said that unfortunately the number is small, but there are hopes that the situation will improve after production aircraft of the kind show themselves in operation.