The first deputy director of Rostec, Vladimir Artyakov, spoke about the modernization of Russian combat helicopters. They have developed a new principle for on-board defense system which allows it to repel missiles with combined guidance systems.
The system is called 'Vitebsk'. It has already been installed on one experimental Ka-52: with the help of this advanced system, the helicopter repelled a record number of portable air defense missiles-18 units during one flight.
'Vitebsk' operates in automatic mode. It detects launches of surface-to-air missiles with several ultraviolet sensors and calculates their coordinates. Then the jamming station blinds the homing head of the attacking missile, as a result of which it loses its target.
According to pilot testimonials, thanks to this system it was possible to repel several launches of various modifications of surface-to-air missiles and safely return to the airfield. In recent years, 'Vitebsk' has undergone several stages of modernization taking into account military recommendations.