MOSCOW, November 15 (AVN) -- Russia's Mil helicopter plant is completing the construction of a test specimen of the Mi-28N combat helicopter, Mikhail Korotkevich, deputy constructor-general of the Mil company and chief supervisor of the project, said on Monday.
Factory flight tests of the new aircraft will begin in December, Korotkevich told the Military News Agency.
Mi-28H is a modified verison of the Mi-28 helicopter which has already completed flight tests. It has completely different armament and is capable of operating in any time of the day. The aircraft is equipped with the fifth generation radio electronic equipment, developed by the Ramenskoye instrumentation design bureau, the Platan radar station and a new sight which ensures detectition, identification and obliteration of the target both in the daytime and at night.
Mi-28N is the world's only helicopter capable of performing automatic flights at the height of five to 15 metres and doubling the terrain, Korotkevich said. The Mil company spent about 150 million U.S. dollars on its design and construction of its test specimen, he added. In comparison, design and construction of the first U.S. AN-64 Apache helicopter cost about two billion dollars.