Russia to test new Mi-28UB helicopter in Syria
Russia plans to send its new Mi-28UB helicopter (with dual control) to Syria for testing, said Andrey Boginsky, CEO of Russian Helicopters.
“Today the Mi-28H has a pilot and an operator, and the primary goal and task of the upgrade is to make it combat training-ready, such that the helicopter can be controlled from either of the cabins. We would like these helicopters [Mi-28UB] to undergo their kind of testing here [in Syria],” he said during an interview for Zvezda’s Voyennaya Priyomka (Military Acceptance) TV program filmed at the Khmeimim airbase.
As announced earlier by Russian Helicopters’ Chief Designer Nikolay Pavlenko, eight new Mi-28UB helicopters will be added to the Russian Aerospace Forces (RAF) this year.
RAF Head of Combat Training for Army Aviation Oleg Chesnokov announced that the first Mi-28UBs will be used at the 344th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Army Aviation Personnel in Torzhok. According to him, pilots and teachers at the Torzhok Center have already begun retraining for this modification of the helicopter.
The Mi-28UB is a combat training-ready modification of the Mi-28N “Night Hunter” assault helicopter whose production began in 2010. It is equipped with a dual control system. Although the new machine is intended for training pilots, it retains all of the assault capabilities, and can be used to strike enemy facilities and equipment.