MOSCOW. Aug 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The new MI-28N Havoc strike helicopter that is exhibited at the MAKS 2003 aerospace show will not be supplied to Russian military units in the next two to three years, Vitaly Pavlov, ex-chief of the army aviation, said on Tuesday.
"I believe that the MI-28N strike helicopter (Russian designation Night Hunter) will be a highlight of the MAKS show, but it will not be delivered to military units in the next two to three years," Pavlov told Interfax-Military News Agency.
According to media reports, President Vladimir Putin was impressed by the MI-28N's specifications while visiting MAKS on Tuesday. He went up to the podium and took a look inside the helicopter's cabin.
"The prototype of the MI-28N is taking the main volume of tests at the moment, and it will take a few years to commission the helicopter," Pavlov said.
The MI-28N was designed by the Rostvertol production association based in Rostov-on-Don and Mil helicopter plant based in Moscow.
Pavlov said he was familiar with the new helicopter's specifications. The aircraft is armed with the latest Ataka missiles and air-to-air missiles and fitted with avionics of the latest-generation. A new sight making it possible to detect and engage targets at night is the helicopter's main peculiarity, he stressed.
"For the first time in the domestic helicopter-building history, the helicopter incorporates equipment for synthesized 3- D terrain depiction that allows the aircraft to fly at low altitudes from 5 to 15 meters in the automatic terrain doubling mode," Pavlov said.
According to military sources, the Air Force's army aviation is planning to buy about 50 MI-28N helicopters before 2010.
The army aviation is currently equipped with MI-8 Hip, MI-24 Hind, MI-26 Halo and KA-50 Hokum helicopters.