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 Another six-ship batch of Mil Mi-28N advanced attack helicopters was delivered to RusAF in an official ceremony at the airfield of the Rostvertol joint stock company, a subsidiary of the Russian Helicopters holding company, on 8 October 2011. The machines were headed for the Army Aviation Combat and Conversion Training Centre in the town of Torzhok. It has been the second RusAF Mi-28N delivery this year. The first batch of four Mi-28Ns has been shipped to Torzhok this summer and given yellow side numbers 09, 10, 11 and 12. The first two machines of the new batch, with yellow side numbers 45 and 46, have the Mi-28N’s traditional camouflage paintjob of various shades of green, with the remaining four (47 through 50) having the new gray paintjob of RusAF.
The Mi-28N entered service with RusAF by a presidential decree dated 15 October 2009. Last year, the first RusAF air squadron stationed in Budyonnovsk converted to the Mi-28N (Rostvertol had built 16 helicopters for it, of which 10 were delivered in 2009), and deliveries started to another RusAF unit stationed in Korenovsk (according to the Russian media, the first eight Mi-28Ns were shipped there in October through December 2010). The Budyonnovsk-based aircraft feature blue serials from 01 through 17 and the Korenovsk-stationed ones red serials from 01 through 08. In September this year, six Mi-28Ns from both units were involved in large-scale combined exercise Union Shield 2011 at the Ashuluk training range in the Astrakhan Region.
To date, Rostvertol has delivered as many as almost 40 production-standard Mi-28Ns. Recently, Russian Helicopters holding and Russian Defence Ministry have signed a new long-term contract for more helicopters of the type for the period throughout the decade. Meeting the media this spring, Rostvertol Director General Boris Slyusar said the company would have productionised the Mi-28NM upgraded version by 2015. Probably, the derivative will mount the long-awaited radar, cutting-edge defensive aids suite and advanced weapons. The Mi-28UB fitted with twin sets of controls is being prepared for construction too.
In addition, RusAF has ordered more than two dozen Mi-35M attack helicopters that have been built only for export until recently. The first Mi-35Ms earmarked for RusAF are already in trials at Rostvertol. |
