Russia is developing a new high-speed attack helicopter, the project is called PAK AA (Prospective Aviation Complex of the Army Aviation). This was written by military expert Brandon J. Weichert in an article for The National Interest.
According to Weichert, the creation of the helicopter began in the 2010s. In Russia, they planned to develop a replacement for the outdated fleet of Soviet attack winged vehicles. It was expected that it would occupy a niche between the Ka-52 and Mi-28N.
The annual report of the Fazotron-NIIR corporation published information about the development of a radar for the new helicopter. According to some reports, the program assumed that the combat platform would develop a speed of more than 400-500 km/h. It will receive a VK-2500 power plant.
Will the project ever be implemented, or will the helicopter remain on the drawing board? But it could theoretically surpass all existing Russian combat platforms and be less vulnerable to ATGMs.
At the same time, the PAK AA project will only intensify the arms race. The US is already developing Future Vertical Lift, and China is developing the Z-21. However, sanctions and limited resources may slow down Russian development.