Published: 6/19/1998

Kamov general designer Sergei Mikheyev says he believes that his company will win the Turkish tender for a new-generation combat helicopter with its Ka-50-2 Black Shark. This model is a joint project with the IAI company of Israel, responsible for the avionics suite tailored to the specifics of the Turkish requirements. "By teaming with the Israelis we have overcome many difficulties of political and technical origin, making our proposal very competitive", Mikheyev claims. Officially, the Ka-50-2 is being offered to Turkey by Rosvooruzhenie (Russian Armament) state arms-trade agency, with Kamov being responsible for the technical part of the proposal. Turkey has a requirement for 145 combat helicopters to be delivered by the year 2010. The country is expected to have chosen two or three bidders for the second stage of the tender by the end of this year. The final choice of a supplier should be made from five bidders by March 1999. If the Russian/Israeli proposal does win, the first batch of fifty Ka-50-2s will be produced in Russia, at the Progress factory in Arseniev. The latter claims it could roll-out the first helicopter three months after an order is placed, with a rate of 10-15 airframes a year. The rest will be assembled locally, from parts made in Russia, Israel and the Ukraine, provided Turkey manages to master Russian helicopter technologies at its own industrial facilities. Mikheyev says that "to win this tender is very important to the image of our company", and therefore, the Russians are offering their helicopters on very favourable terms. "The Ka-50-2 is a very special version for Turkey, which is hardly offered to anybody else", Mikheyev explains, adding that in each particular case Rosvooruzhenie and Kamov will decide whether to team with foreign companies or not. Although he is not certain about the outcome of the tender, Mikheyev already sees benefits for Kamov from participating in it: "We have done a tremendous job in compiling the documentation for the customer on this special version. It was prepared in full accordance with western standards and translated into English by Kamov specialists in just seven months, which is itself a great achievement." Meanwhile, the Russian Army has so far received only eight Ka-50s, even though the type was officially accepted in service back in 1995. In 1998, the Defence Ministry made a request for the procurement of eight more helicopters, asking the Government to provide $13m for the completion of nearly-finished airframes at the Progress factory. This year the Army will probably receive only three Ka-50s, with the rest to come in 1999, depending on the funds made available for this procurement.(IN698.3) (VK)  

Article ID: 189