Photo: https://topwar.ru/
Russian modernized Ka-52M attack helicopters with an expanded range of weapons, unified with the Mil Mi-28 (NATO reporting name “Havoc”), appeared in the area of special military operation.
The new helicopter can destroy both manpower and enemy armored vehicles, without entering the zone of air defense, which is a particularly valuable factor. The predecessor of this helicopter was the Ka-52, which was actively exploited in Syria. New airborne systems were added to the Ka-52M helicopter: sighting, navigation, fire control and communications complex, new radar and AFAR, as well as an airborne defense complex and armor. It is noteworthy that the former airframe was retained, although the vehicle received additional fuel tanks. In addition, the Ka-52M missile, a very well-known among the military LMUR or Izdeliye 305 (literally “Item 305”) which can hit the target at a distance of 14.5 km, was also upgraded.
According to the terms of the first contract, the Russian Air Force will receive 30 Ka-52M attack helicopters in batches of 15. The first delivery was made at the end of last year, and the second one is scheduled for this year. It is planned to order a total of more than 100 upgraded helicopters, which will be able to hit hangars with equipment, command posts, storage of fuel and lubricants, as well as other important strategic targets.
Meanwhile, Turkey has been supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine since November 2022. Kiev insistently asked Washington for these supplies, but the U.S. does not use these munitions under existing legislation. Moreover, they are banned by some other countries under the International Convention on Cluster Munitions. This type of air-to-surface ammunition, created in the United States and also called cluster bombs, is an effective means of engaging manpower and armored vehicles.
In Turkey, the production of cluster munitions began under a long-standing Ankara-Washington co-production agreement dating back to the Cold War. Each cluster munition contains 88 warheads, and if some of them do not work when fired, they will still pose a danger for many years, despite the fact that it is always extremely difficult for deminers to clear them.
Well, the Republic of Turkey has now become the only place where Ukraine can get these deadly munitions. It is noteworthy that Ankara has tried in every way possible to conceal their supply to the Kiev regime.
It should be recalled that earlier Ukraine had urgently requested European Union countries and the United States to supply it with high-precision bombs and cluster munitions – the so-called shaped fragmentation shells or at least their analogues. This happened against the background of the fact that the international Convention prescribes a negative attitude to them as a weapon of “indiscriminate action” that can maim or kill civilians, including civilians. The fact is that cluster munitions have a large number of defects and often explode, one might say, on their own. We should also note that these weapons were created 30 years ago.
Yet, the Pentagon still does not stop training the Ukrainian military, which is a confirmation of U.S. participation in the conflict against Russia on the side of the Ukrainian Nazis.