Russia Loses Another Ka-52 ‘Alligator’ Combat Helicopter

A Russian attack helicopter was lost and its pilot killed it has been reported, as the cost for Moscow in equipment since the war started in Ukraine continues to mount.

“Russian source associated with Russian military aviation report about Ka-52 loss. Commander of the aircraft is dead,” posted the pro-Ukrainian X account Special Kherson Cat, next to an image of a Kamov Ka-52 “Alligator” helicopter.

It was citing the Telegram channel of Russian aviation blogger Fighter Bomber who had posted a message that said: “Earth and sky to the commander. . . Speedy recovery to the navigator. We will live!”

This was also shared by pro-Ukrainian account Stugna who used a derogatory term for Russian troops in the post that said: “Good news: it looks like the Ruscists’ Ka-52 helicopter is minus – Russian media. The commander of the aircraft was also eliminated. ‘Let’s live—how ironic.'”

The downed aircraft was also reported by open-source intelligence X account OSINWarfare, which said that: “One crew member was killed, while the other sustained injuries.”

The Ka-52 is a highly maneuverable helicopter that can attack personnel and destroy armored and unarmored ground targets, as well as tanks, low-speed and aerial targets, according to Air Force Technology. It is also used for surveillance and aerial command.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry over the reports of the helicopter loss, which did not include details of when or where it occurred.

Ukraine’s defense ministry reported the last Russian helicopter loss occurred om October 11, taking Moscow’s tally of aircraft losses since the start of the war to 329.

As of Friday, the monitoring website Oryx, which uses video and still imagery as evidence, said that Russia has lost a total of 146 helicopters in the war. Of these, 61 were Ka-52s according to its tally, which it says is likely to be an underestimate.

Russian equipment losses have increased sharply since the summer, with 434 pieces lost in August and 695 in October, according to an analysis of Oryx’s figures by independent Russian outlet Agentstvo.

The outlet said that equipment destroyed, damaged, abandoned, or captured by Ukrainian forces included 253 infantry fighting vehicles, 103 tanks, 41 armored personnel carriers, four aircraft (two Su-25 attack aircraft and two Su-34 fighters) and one Mi-28 helicopter.

This was more than twice the estimated figure for Ukraine’s forces, which last month lost 276 pieces of equipment, comprising 47 armored personnel carriers, 28 infantry fighting vehicles, 21 tanks and one Su-24M bomber.