First Deputy General Director of Rostec, Vladimir Artyakov, spoke about the upgrade of Russian combat helicopters. A new-principle airborne defense system has been developed for them, which allows repelling missiles with combined guidance systems.
The complex is called "Vitebsk". It has already been installed on one experimental Ka-52: this helicopter, with the help of an advanced system, repelled a record number of MANPADS missiles in one sortie – 18 pieces.
"Vitebsk" operates in automatic mode. It detects the launch of anti-aircraft missiles using several ultraviolet sensors and calculates their coordinates. Then, the suppression station blinds the homing head of the attacking missile, causing it to lose its target.
According to pilots, thanks to this equipment, it was possible to repel several launches of anti-aircraft missiles of various modifications at once and safely return to the airfield. In recent years, "Vitebsk" has undergone several stages of modernization, taking into account the recommendations of the military.