MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax-AVN) - The new Russian helicopters developed at the Kamov and Mil companies have good export potential, Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Mikhailov told Interfax-Military News Agency Monday.
"Our helicopters are not inferior to best Western aircraft of the type and even superior to them," he said, adding that their export potential is brilliant.
According to him, "many clients from many countries not only consider the acquisition of the aircraft as possible, but are already negotiating contracts on KA-52 and MI-28 delivery."
He added that as far as he knows the Federal Military Technical Cooperation Service thinks it is necessary to participate in the Turkish contest with the KA-52.
According to him, production of the KA-50 Black Shark (NATO codename Hokum) will be resumed in 2005, while the KA-52 will go in mass-production already in 2006.
He also said that the official support of Kamov and Mil became possible only with the firm position of the supreme commander-in-chief, i.e. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who persistently speaks of the necessity to increase the military budget and field state-of-the-art equipment in Russian army.
"The stable economic situation also favored the process, as it allowed getting funding for the re-equipment of the Russian army aviation without damaging other most important state programs," he said.