The Russian Mi-28NE Night Hunter

The Dubai Air Show 2021 will for the first time see the flights of the Russian Mi-28NE Night Hunter and Ka-52E Alligator gunship helicopters.

“As part of the Dubai Air Show, the schedule includes flights by Russia’s MC-21-310, the medical version of the Ansat helicopter and combat helicopters Mi-28NE and Ka-52E, while the static exhibition of the Russian equipment will be represented by a prototype of the light tactical aircraft Checkmate and helicopters Ka-226T and Mi-171A2. It’s planned that Russia’s UAV Orion will also be on show”, said Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, according to the ministry’s press service.

Both helicopters have already participated in the Russian combat operations in Syria, performing missions to destroy armoured vehicles and manpower, as well as to trace militants groups and individual vehicles. One of the officially released videos captured the Mi-28N taking out the tank from a distance of almost 3 km.

The Mi-28N, serially produced by the Russian Helicopters’ Rostvertol company, has been nicknamed a Night Hunter by the Russian troops thanks to its ability to perform combat missions at any time in simple and adverse weather condition. The same nickname has been inherited by its export version – Mi-28NE.

The Mi-28NE is intended for fire support of the land troops and is employed to hit armoured vehicles, low flying and low-speed air targets, to carry air reconnaissance as well as to provide target designation to other combat air assets. The Night Hunter is heavily armoured and features high combat survivability. Other major advantages include all-weather and round-the-clock combat application capability, formidable fire power.

The Mi-28NE gunships intended for the use in hot and desert areas are equipped with multi-cyclone dust protection devices with a new air purification principle and high dust-removal effectiveness. Such devices ensure extraction of sand, dust and foreign particles from air coming from the atmosphere.

The Ka-52E combines functions of attack, reconnaissance and command helicopters. Thanks to its coaxial rotor system, it can perform new types of manoeuvres, including funnels and flat turns, thus enabling it to effectively engage moving targets in their less protected areas

The Ka-52 is fitted with signature control devices as well as active counter-measures. It has a two-seat cockpit and can be flown by either pilot. It is also the world’s only helicopter equipped with a seat ejection system.

The other major advantages of the Alligator are said to be its high effectiveness in the mountains and over the sea surface, low sensitivity to wind impacts, high combat survivability, as well as the open architecture of the avionics, which makes possible the installation of the systems upon the operator’s choice.