Брата "Черной акулы" назвали "Аллигатором"
The Kamov Design Bureau has rolled out a two-seater version of the Ka-50 Black Shark combat helicopter. The Ka-52 development prototype has a 85 percent parts commonalty with the Ka-50. Despite being heavier by 1 ton, the new helicopter not only regains all combat capabilities of its predecessor, now it is more capable of the night flying and working in a group. The Ka-52 Alligator became the first helicopter to be designed for an aerial combat. Its export version is priced at $ 20 million, offering much better cost/efficiency ratio than its foreign analogs.

Страны АТР не прочь обновить свой авиапарк
Nowadays, when the state military orders continue to decrease, the future of the Russian defense industrial complex becomes dependent upon the volume of arms exports. Since 1995, Russia has held the second place--after the USA--in the world military market, with the sales worth $ 3.05 billion (13.4 percent of the world market). Roughly 52 percent of it came from the combat aircraft sector. In terms of future sales, the most promising region seems to be the Pacific Rim--in the past few years its nations acquired close to 50 percent of all exported combat aircraft. The Pacific Rim market is very attractive for Russia, whose arms-makers won several large contracts in the region.

Неофициальные дилеры Российской оборонки
Almost every fourth industrial enterprise in the Soviet Union was involved in manufacturing weapons for the Soviet military empire. Nowadays many of those enterprises stay idle, whereas clamor and fuss dominate military bases and firing ranges which have turned into a marketplace of inexpensive defense equipment of sorts. CIS countries--former combat friends that turned into Russia's competitors on the world weapons market --are eager to part with the antiquated defense equipment because often they do not have enough money even to maintain it serviceable. Having teamed up with clever Israeli engineers, arms sellers from Ukraine, Belarus and Tajikistan are actively offering relatively cheap armament to developing countries. If somebody buys anything from those sellers, he soon realizes the wisdom of the proverb "the miser pays twice."

Империя "BOEING" против старого света
В то время, когда финансисты Уолл-стрита приветствовали поглощение корпорации "McDonnell Douglas", у авиакомпаний и антимомонопольного комитета в Европе не было повода для радости. Ведь результатом глобальной реструктуризации в мировом аэрокосмическом секторе стало то, что борьбу за господство в небе ведут уже не отдельные компании, а целые континенты: Северная Америка, представленная империей "Boeing", и Европа, где в рамках консорциума "Airbus Industrie" объединились четыре государства Старого Света.

За границами возможного
In 1983, the USSR national aerobatic team suffered three crashes. In all cases the investigation commission came to the conclusion that the aeroplanes were designed and manufactured properly and that the strength calculations were made correctly. The aeroplanes were found to have been destroyed as a result of their pilots exceeding maximum g-factor. It was also found that the aircraft, remaining in the national team, had structural problems with the root sections of their wing spars caused by manoeuvering at a high g. Surprisingly, those aircraft had logged only 10 to 20 hours before the inspection. The explanation was that some pilots could withstand +12g without loosing consciousness, whereas the appropriate limit had been previously thought to be +9g. Following those findings, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and Sukhoi Advanced Technologies made decision to set the design strength factor for all new trainers at 22.5g for both "positive" and "negative" areas.

Самолеты "Ил": расширение функциональных возможностей
Almost all aircraft makers worldwide try to extend functional capabilities of their passenger aircraft by creating its cargo versions. Russian manufacturers are not an exception, including the Ilyushin design bureau. On 14 September 1996, the Il-114T freighter intended for transporting cargoes in containers, on standard trays and simply in packs on the floor started its testing program. The Il-114T differs from the basic passenger model in having a new remote control system with mechanical back-up. To increase flight safety all control system wiring is attached to cargo cabin ceiling, while the push-pull linkage goes under the floor. A low cost and high fuel efficiency make the new Ilyushin attractive to Russian and foreign operators. The Il-114T's certification trials are expected to be completed in the middle of 1997.

Ракеты неначавшейся войны
The S-25 air defense system built around the V-300 air-to-air missile, which is also known as the SA-1 Guild, did not participate in full-scale military conflicts. However, it played an important role in the cold war between the superpowers, becoming a symbol of those times. At one time the Moscow air defense system had 56 S-25 systems placed along specially-built concrete ring roads around the city.