YEKATERINBURG. Aug 6 (Interfax-AVN) - Some 20 MI-8MTKO Hip helicopters fitted with optical systems of the Ural optic and mechanical plant are now employed by army aviation units, a spokesman for the plant's management told Interfax-Military News Agency on Tuesday.
"Test operation of the upgraded helicopters proved advanced specifications of the GOES-321 unified hydro-stabilized optical and electronic systems capable of round-the-clock operation," the spokesman said.
He added that MI-8MTKO helicopters were equipped with OPS-24N unified optical sight systems and GOES-321 units enabling pilots to use Ataka guided missiles 24 hours a day at ranges mounting up to 6 kilometers. The missiles are fitted with shaped charge or thermobaric warheads.
"Flight tests of MI-8MTKO helicopters with GOES-321 units have been completed and some 20 aircraft are in test operation at present," the spokesman said.
Commander of the Russian Army Aviation Colonel General Vitaly Pavlov earlier told Interfax-AVN that results of the helicopters' test operation in the Armed Forces testified to the necessity of upgrading assets of the Russian army aviation.
Pavlov said that some 2,000 targets were revealed in Chechnya at night for the past two years, up to 1,200 targets destroyed by artillery fire with employment of designation data provided by MI- 8MTKO air scouts. During a night in June 2000 as many as 98 wounded servicemen were airlifted from combat areas by two MI-8MTKO helicopters.
MI-8MTKO aircraft are used for determining coordinates of hostile targets via IR imaging; the data supplied by the helicopters enable artillery and rocket assets to efficiently engage the enemy's objects.
Units employed on the helicopter include the GOES-321 optic and electronic system with an IR imager and a laser range-finder, night vision goggles and their accessories, satellite navigation suite and electronic indication assets.