Big losses for Russia. It takes them a year to produce that many Ka‑52
11:51 AM EDT, October 26, 2023
More information is appearing about the number of machines the Russian Federation lost as a result of ATACMS shelling. The use of American missiles to destroy Russian military potential proved to be very effective, as the invaders lost a year's output of so-called "Alligators" in just one attack.
On October 17, we reported on the shelling of Russian airfields in occupied areas of Luhansk and Berdyansk, as a result of which many pieces of equipment there were damaged or destroyed. Sometime later, it was confirmed that the attack was carried out by Ukrainians using ATACMS missiles provided by the USA with cluster ammunition. The helicopters standing at the airfields were literally covered with shrapnel, leading to serious and critical damage.
Destruction of the annual helicopter production
According to Oryx portal reports, the total harvest of ATACMS shelling is 24 machines. This number also includes 15 Ka-52 "Alligator" attack helicopters, which are twin-rotor machines manufactured by the Arsenyev Aviation Company "Progress". The "Alligators" equipped with a 30mm automatic 2A42 gun and both 2, double 23-mm guns with a range of approximately 286 miles, pose a serious problem for Ukraine's defenders. However, it seems that this one attack was able to bury the effect of the manufacturer's annual efforts.
In 2022, the Russian military industry was able to produce just 15 modified assault helicopters in the Ka-52M version, which were on the front line by July 2023. It therefore appears that one attack was enough to destroy all of this annual construction effort. Not to mention the costs, as each "Alligator" is worth about 25 million dollars (so taking into account only the Ka-52 this one ATACMS attack punched a hole in Russia's pocket for 375 million dollars).
What is the Russian arms industry capable of?
The Russians declare that their arms industry is capable of delivering between 15 and 30 "Alligators" per year, however, in the realistic assessment of Ukrainian experts, 15 machines last year was a very high result and the Russian Federation is capable of strengthening its forces with just a few Ka-52 pieces every year.
Apart from the Ka-52s themselves, nine multi-purpose Mi-8 helicopters were also destroyed or critically damaged during the ATACMS attack. These are much less specialized machines, however, the price of one such helicopter is about $6.5 million.
