ROSTOV-ON-DON. Jan 28 (Interfax-AVN) - The Rostvertol plant based in Rostov-on-Don will build two more MI-28N Havoc strike helicopters in 2004, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov said on Wednesday.
"The new MI-28N strike helicopter is taking tests. The second helicopter of this type will be built in February, and the third helicopter will take to the air before the end of the year. In the future, the helicopter will form the core of Russia's army aviation," Mikhailov said at the transfer of five upgraded MI- 24PN Hind helicopters to the Air Force.
It is the first time in many years that the Air Force commissions a batch of upgraded helicopters meeting all contemporary requirements, he noted. "The work will continue," he said.
Commissioning documents on the batch of MI-24PNs were signed by Mikhailov and Rostvertol Director General Boris Slyusar.
Chief of the Air Force press service Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax-Military News Agency earlier that the batch of five MI-24PN helicopters will be initially sent to the 334th army aviation personnel training and retraining center in the town of Torzhok in the Tver region.
Upgrade of in-service MI-24P helicopters to the MI-24PN level (P stands for "gun" in the Russian language, and N for nighttime operation) is handled by the Rostvertol plant in Rostov- on-Don.
The MI-24PN carries the BREO-24 avionics and Zarevo nighttime IR homing equipment. In particular, BREO-24 includes the Raduga-Sh sighting and surveillance system integrated with the Zarevo IR imager (earlier designated as Nokturn). The imager was designed by the Zverev plant in the town of Krasnogorsk outside Moscow.
The sighting system is reinforced by an IR subsystem, laser range-finder and anti-tank missile control channel. BREO-24 includes an LCD, night-vision goggles and adapted cockpit lighting equipment.
The new avionics renders the helicopter the round-the-clock operation capability and ability to use all types of inherent weapons. It provides for piloting the aircraft at altitudes from 50 to 200 meters at night and ensures high precision of navigation through the use of a digital terrain map and reference to a satellite navigation system.
Armament includes the anti-tank missile system with Shturm or Ataka high-precision missiles operational 24 hours a day, unguided projectiles, and in-built and suspended small arms and guns, such as the NPPU-23 gun system with the 23mm GSh-23 gun.
Suspended armament may include up to 16 9M-120/120F/114 anti- tank projectiles of the Ataka-V system, suspended gun systems with 23mm guns and allowance of 450 shells, and several air-to- air missiles. Combat efficiency of the modified helicopter is 1.5 to 1.7 times higher than that of the baseline MI-24 Hind.
As a result of simultaneous repairs, restoration and modernization, the helicopter has an overhaul period of 1,000 hours or seven years in operation. Over 620 MI-24P helicopters have been produced.