On October 28, people who know exactly what the romance of the sky and alluring space are celebrating their professional holiday. This day is a festive day for pilots, navigators, flight engineers, ground specialists and for all those related to army aviation.
It was on October 28 in 1948 in Serpukhov near Moscow that the first division of army aviation was formed - an aviation squadron, which received G-3 helicopters.
Its initial tasks were to transport various cargoes by air, conduct reconnaissance and provide communications. In other words, the tasks were limited to subsidiary ones. By the way, it was the auxiliary army aviation that was originally called.
It received the name army in the early 70s, after the adoption of the Mi-24 helicopter, whose main task was to support the actions of the ground forces from the air.
Over the years of its existence, the army aviation has participated in various search and rescue operations, as well as in operations to prevent natural and man-made disasters. In particular, the professional experience of the pilots was used in the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. Experienced Afghan pilots performed incredible feats, literally stopping helicopters over the mouth of the destroyed 4th power unit, and giving them the opportunity to drop sandbags and lead blanks down. The expediency of these measures, as it later turned out, was very doubtful, but this in no way cancels the dedication of the actions of the helicopter crews in the skies over Chernobyl and Pripyat.
Army aviation crews were involved in resolving military conflicts on the territory of Russia and the countries of the former USSR, and defended the interests of our Motherland in “hot spots” outside our country. This is the aforementioned Afghanistan, where the success of entire operations against militant groups actively supported by the West and the monarchies of the Persian Gulf often depended on the actions of the crews and technical personnel of the army aviation.
Today, army aviation is taking part in a military operation against international terrorists in the Syrian Arab Republic. Today one cannot but recall the death of the Mi-25 helicopter crew. The commander of the crew, Colonel R. Khabibullin and Lieutenant E. Dolgin, at the cost of their lives, thwarted the offensive of IS militants (* prohibited in the Russian Federation) at the position of the Syrian army in the Palmyra region.
Russian army aviation pilots are involved in numerous humanitarian operations in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. This work, unnoticed by many departments and the media, in fact carries sometimes no less risks than participation in a direct military operation. After all, Russian helicopters and Russian crews, which are part of the flight fleet of many international organizations, have repeatedly come under fire from various bandit groups. Moreover, they were exposed at those moments when it was least expected.
Modern army aviation plays an increasing role in the strategy and tactics of rescue and combat operations. It is for this reason that the increase and renewal of the helicopter fleet is one of the development priorities of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The army aviation of the RF Armed Forces today includes attack, multipurpose and military transport helicopters.
By 2020, more than 1,000 new rotary-wing aircraft should enter service with the army aviation. First of all, we are talking about the Ka-52 Alligator combat helicopters. The helicopter is designed to destroy tanks, armored and unarmored military equipment, manpower, helicopters and other enemy aircraft, capable of operating in any weather conditions and at any time of the day. The combat vehicle is equipped with the most modern and powerful weapons that can be configured for various combat missions. … In addition, the Ka-52 "Alligator" is equipped with an electronic protection system and visibility reduction devices that reduce, dissipate and distort the heat trail of engines, as well as active countermeasures.
In 2019, the Russian Helicopters holding intends to enter into a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the supply of Russian Ka-52K Katran carrier-based helicopters. The Russian Defense Ministry has already confirmed this information.
Currently, the holding's specialists are developing an unmanned version of the Ka-226T light multipurpose helicopter. This development will allow reaching a new level of helicopter construction in Russia.
Over the past decades, army aviation has been reformed and reorganized several times, transferred from the Air Force to the Ground Forces and vice versa. In 1990, army aviation became an independent branch of the military, and in 2003 it was again transferred to the jurisdiction of the Russian Air Force, which in turn became part of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
But transformations are transformations, and the main asset of army aviation has always been and remains the moral and volitional qualities of pilots, their professionalism and willingness to do their job without excessive pathos.
Voennoye Obozreniye congratulates the personnel and veterans of the army aviation on the holiday!
