The AFU didnt specify which unit had downed the Ka-52.
That particular incident reportedly occurred near the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut.
It remains unclear if it was returned to service.
The Russian Air Force Kamov Ka-50 shown above is a single-seat version of the Ka-52 helicopter. Image:Dmitriy Pichugin/GNU Free Documentation License 1.2
The Soviet aerospace engineer was a pioneer of helicopter design, and he founded the Kamov Design Bureau.
Rostec is a defense corporation owned by Russia.]
This was perfected with the Kamov Ka-15 (NATO reporting name Hen), a two-seat utility helicopter.
A Ka-52 hovers at Torzhok Air Base in Russia. Visible are the helicopter’s multiple hard points for attaching munitions. Image:Alex Beltyukov/CC BY-SA 3.0
Progress was slow, however, with operational testing being conducted from early 1985 through the middle of 1986.
The Ka-50 was also noted for featuring a NPP Zvezda K-37-800 ejection seat to provide greater pilot survivability.
The system actually blows away the rotor blades before an ejection seat deploys.
The Kamov Ka-52 Alligator is sometimes described as a flying tank. Some Western analysts suggest the helicopter is roughly analogous to the AH-64 Apache. Image: Vlsergey/CC BY-SA 3.0
How successful this is in practice isnt entirely clear.
Today, the twin-seat, all-weather attack aircraft is considered among Russias best attack helicopters.
The aircraft also feature updated avionics.
The above photo shows the instruments in the Ka-52 helicopter. Image:Leukhin Fedor/CC BY-SA 2.0
None of the Ka-52s were reported to have been shot down by enemy fire in the Middle Eastern conflict.
The story is quite different in Ukraine, however.
A Ka-52 at the International Military & Technical Forum Army in 2018. Image:Vitaly V. Kuzmin/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
The Ka-52 Alligator employs a coaxial contra-rotating rotor system. Image:Vitaly V. Kuzmin/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
An exterior view of the side-by-side cockpit of the Ka-52 Alligator. Image:Vitaly V. Kuzmin/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
The Ka-52 Alligator shown with a significant weapon loadout. Image:Vitaly V. Kuzmin/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
The Ka-52 is reportedly able to perform loops, rolls and “the funnel” (circle-strafing). Image:Vitaly V. Kuzmin/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
