Russia loses 40th Ka-52 Alligator, which the Kremlin calls the world's 'best helicopter gunship'
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Rebecca Rommen
Aug 14, 2023, 20:43 IST
A Russian Ka-52 "Alligator" attack helicopter flies in the Luhansk regionREUTERS
Russia has lost 40 of its best attack helicopters.
The Kremlin bills the Kamov Ka-52 Alligator as the "world's best helicopter gunship."
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The independent monitoring group Oryx, which only counts combat losses confirmed through open sources, says that Russia has lost 40 Kamov Ka-52 Alligator helicopters.
These mounting losses come despite the Kremlin billing the Alligator as the "world's best helicopter gunship," the Kyiv Post reports.
In June, Insider's Ryan Pickrell wrote that the Ka-52 Alligators were "emerging as a threat to Ukraine's ground forces that must be quickly engaged with air-defense missiles before they can eliminate its heavy armor, such as tanks and infantry fighting vehicles."
While some military experts say the US Apache helicopter is superior to the Ka-52, the Russian weapon is without a doubt highly rated.
In its review of the top nine attack helicopters, Military-Today.com wrote: "The Ka-52 is one of the fastest and most maneuverable attack helicopters due to its two coaxial contra-rotating main rotors. Armor of this gunship withstands hits from 23 mm projectiles. Pilots are seated in ejection seats."
Man-portable air-defense systems, including American-made Stingers, have been among the most effective weapons at killing Ka-52 crews, Forbes reported.
Stocks of the Stinger, a hand-held antiaircraft missile, are reportedly at critically low levels following limited production in the US and over a year of deliveries to Ukraine.
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