Early on Monday morning Russian milbloggers – including the “Fighterbomber” Telegram channel, said to be run by a serving air force officer – carried reports that a Ka-52 “Alligator” attack helicopter had gone down with the loss of its crew.
The cause and location of the crash was not specified and there have been no claims of a shootdown by Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU), while Russia’s Ministry of Defense has yet to comment on the claims.
Two thirds of Russia’s Alligator “start state” lost
The Kamov Ka-52 Alligator two-seat attack helicopter – a development of the earlier Ka-50 Black Shark – entered serial production in 2011 and was valued at $16 million in 2023.
It is considered Russia’s most advanced rotary wing combat aircraft and is said to have day/night/all-weather capability flying at speeds of up to 300 kph (186 mph). It has a maximum takeoff weight of 10,800 kilograms (23,750 pounds), a flight ceiling of 5,500 meters (18,000 feet) and capable of carrying combat weapons with a load of up to 2,800 kilograms (6,200 pounds).
The attack helicopter is used for a range of tasks including reconnaissance, battlefield coordination, and strikes against armored and unarmored ground targets and aerial threats. Its main armament is the 30mm 2A42 autocannon and it can carry a range of guided missiles and free flight rockets.
According to the open-source intelligence (OSINT) project Oryx, Moscow has lost more than 60 Ka-52 helicopters, either destroyed or damaged by a combination of losses during combat, the result of Ukrainian attacks on airfields, and accidents caused by pilot error or component failure. This total is from around 90 at the start of the war in Ukraine.
Commentators suggest that the aircraft, which was designed more than 30 years ago, is simply susceptible to modern air defense weapons during combat, along with current helicopter crews lacking the skills needed to operate at the extremely low altitudes and high speeds needed to avoid detection by Ukrainian air defense systems.