Russian Air Force to buy 12 Ka-52 helicopters in 2009

KRASNODAR, November 4 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s armed forces plans to buy up to 12 Ka-52 Hokum-B combat/reconnaissance helicopters in 2009, the Russian Air Force Commander Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday.

“We plan to buy up to 12 Ka-52s in 2009 providing we complete tests and are satisfied that the machine meets all the demands agreed and required of it,” Zelin said in Krasnodar on Tuesday during celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Serov College of Higher Military Aviation and Engineering in Krasnodar, southern Russia.

Zelin said that in addition to the Ka-52, designed primarily for reconnaissance and target designation, the main helicopter in service with the Air Force will be the Mi-28N Night Hunter helicopter gunship.

“These machines will complement, not replace, one another,” the Air Force chief said. “The Air Force budget has increased in quality and quantity, therefore I think that everything planned in the defense program … new hardware, aircraft, helicopters, modernized equipment, we should receive.”

Zelin also said the development of a new-generation fighter, which will eventually replace the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker combat aircraft, was proceeding on schedule.

Tests of the new fighter are expected to start in 2009 and the combat plane is due to enter service with the Air Force in 2013.

Zelin also touched upon the issue of sweeping military reforms, which are expected to cut 150,000 officer posts in a restructuring program that will see oversize divisions and regiments replaced by smaller and more agile combat-ready units.

Zelin confirmed that regiment numbers would be reduced but the number of districts would remain unchanged.

Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said earlier that Air Force units are to be cut from the current 340 down to 180 as part of the reforms. In addition, each military district will have an airborne brigade as a quick-reaction operational-level unit.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081104/118120823.html

Why not just buy the PAK FA if you can’t get the Raptor?

Seriously? What’s to stop Australia, Japan, and whatnot from switching to Russia for their hardware? I know it would require a bit of cash to establish a support base for a whole new manufacturer, but at least you have something on the level of the Raptor, right?

A number of reasons:

First, it’s not operational yet and won’t be until sometime between 2015 and 2020. Also the western version (PAK-FA MKI) may even take longer.

Second, if we were to buy into the program it would be the exact same problem as with the JSF. People and lobby groups will complain about delays, technology handover and all that stuff.

Third, are government has this belief that if are Air force is not operating American or European aircraft then we can’t take part in operations with the USA.

There hasn’t been any news of Sri Lanka MiG-29SM for a while now. The last article I could find was dated 2008-03-19. I don’t think the have been delivered yet or we would of heard something about it.

Well, MiG-29 SMT wouldn’t be that bad. At least, they offer way better a2g capabilities compared to a vanilla 9.12.
Whatever, I think better idea would be Su-25 or even attack helicopters.

The whole reason that Sri Lanka brought the MiG-29SM was so that they could take on the Tamil Tiger air wing at night, with mud moving being a second priority.

I keep hearing news about the Russian air force in this conflict. Is there any news on what happened to the Georgian air force? Any reports to how many aircraft they lost. I would also really like to see some photos of the damage done to their airbases.

BP shutters Georgian pipeline
BP says it closed the 90,000 barrel a day Baku-Supsa pipeline that flows through the embattled nation.

LONDON (AP) — BP PLC says it has shut down an oil pipeline that runs through Georgia as a precautionary measure, but says that it’s unaware of any Russian bombings on pipelines in the region.
BP says it closed the 90,000-barrel-a-day Baku-Supsa pipeline earlier Tuesday.

Another pipeline operated by the London-based oil company in the former Soviet Republic, the larger Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, is already out of action after a fire last week on its Turkish stretch.

BP (BP) spokesman Robert Wine says that the Baku-Supsa line had been closed because it runs through central Georgia, where there is greater risk of conflict.

However, he adds that BP has had no reports of damage to pipelines in Georgia.

A third pipeline in Georgia that BP uses to export oil, but does not operate, remains open.

So much for the BS about russia attacking oil pipelines.

yes i see your point from Iraq and just about any other conflict that had CAS invovment but the numbers involved here, the terrain and the density of the combat zone are vastly different, its never an easy task but this number of losses already does not bode to well for the Russian airforce does it if we are to be honest with ourselves.

I reckon that the lose of 4 aircraft isn’t to bad, especially since 3 of them are Su-25. If the Russian air force has lost 10 to 20 aircraft as Georgia has claimed then that would make them look bad. It’s really hard compare a similar air campaign that has been carried out by NATO or the U.S.

There is first Gulf war, were the allied loses 75 (some of these were friendly fire) but Iraq at that time had a much larger air defense system.

There is Kosovo, were 2 aircraft were lost but NATO aircraft had an altitude restriction I believe, that was well out of the range of MANPADS and AA guns.

Then there is the second Gulf war, were 2 aircraft were shoot down by the Iraqis but not much of an air defense was left after the first war.

Will they be forced to go up to medium alititude precision only strikes or instead choose to rely on artillary?

I believe that medium altitudes strikes are being carried out. There are a few photos of Su-24 but you haven’t seen to many video of them. I believe this is due to them fly at higher altitudes and carrying out precision strikes and SEAD.

As on rely on only artillery is very unlikely, as artillery can’t hit target deep in Georgia.

The good news for Russia is that no Helos have been lost. Helicopters are normally the most vulnerable on the battlefield.

As i have said PGMs were in a different era then, they are now far more reliable and incidents were bombs go astray are less now then they were then. Also i’m really not bothered how you percieved the CNN reports as it really is irrelevent to this discussion.

PGMs are only as good as the Intel behind them. If you don’t know what you’re targeting is 100 percent military then you’re going to get collateral damage and civilians being killed.