December 15,2008:
Needing more attack helicopters right away, Turkey will buy 32 Russian
Mi-28s, at a cost of about $31 million each. Longer term, Turkey has a deal
with Italian firm AgustaWestland, to build fifty or more modified versions of
the A129 Mangusta in Turkey (and calling it the T129.) The first of these won't
be available until 2013, so the Mi-28s will serve in the meantime. Currently,
only seven of the twelve AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters the Turkish Army has are
available for service, and the Turks desperately need more gunships for their
operations against rebel Kurds on both sides of the Iraqi border.
.
Last year,
Russia decided to replace its 250 Mi-24 helicopter gunships with 300 of the
more recent Mi-28s. The Mi-24 is a twelve ton chopper based on the Mi-8/17
transport. The U.S. did the same thing with the AH-1, developing it from the
UH-1 "Huey." But rather than just carry two pilots, and a lot of
weapons, the Mi-24 could still carry troops or cargo in the back, and was not
as nimble as the AH-1. The 11 ton Mi-28 looks more like the AH-64. That's
because, by the end of the 1960s, the Russians realized that the AH-1 design
was superior.
The latest version of the Mi-28, the Mi-28N is
a more capable helicopter, costing about the same as the earlier AH-64s. The
Mi-28N "Night Hunter" is an all weather; night attack version of the
1980s era Mi-28A, with added FLIR (night vision sensor), and night fighting
optics for the two man crew. The basic Mi-28 is a 11.6 ton helicopter that can
carry 1.6 tons of rockets and missiles. The aircraft also has a 30mm cannon.
The cockpit for the two man crew is armored, and the helicopter has missile
countermeasures (chaff and flares), GPS, head up display, laser designator and
other gadgets. The Mi-28N has a top speed of 300 kilometers an hour and a one
way range of 1,100 kilometers. It can carry up to 16 anti-tank missiles (with a
range of up to eight kilometers). The helicopter can also carry 80mm rockets,
bombs or fuel for additional range. The Mi-28 has been around in small
quantities for two decades, but the Mi-28N is the most advanced model, on a par
with the American AH-64D gunship (which is a little lighter.) The first version
of the Mi-28N was shown in 1996, although the manufacturer, Mil, wasn't ready
to offer for sale until 2004. The Turks will be the first big export customer.