--- title: "Kamov Ka-52 — OnlyPlanes" description: "The Ka-52 Alligator is a two-seat Kamov reconnaissance and attack helicopter with coaxial rotors, developed from the Ka-50 program." canonical_url: "https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-52" locale: en meta: keywords: "aviation, aircraft, airlines, airports, flight" "og:description": "The Ka-52 Alligator is a two-seat Kamov reconnaissance and attack helicopter with coaxial rotors, developed from the Ka-50 program." "og:image": "https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/52.webp" "og:title": "Kamov Ka-52 — OnlyPlanes" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://onlyplanes.ru/llms.txt) Military helicopters / Ка-52 # Kamov Ka-52 The Ka-52 Alligator is a two-seat Kamov reconnaissance and attack helicopter with coaxial rotors, developed from the Ka-50 program. ![Kamov Ka-52 aircraft photograph](https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/52.webp) Development ## History The Ka-52 Alligator is a two-seat Kamov reconnaissance and attack helicopter. It grew out of the single-seat Ka-50 program, but gained a new cockpit and a different distribution of work between crew members. The coaxial arrangement of two main rotors turning in opposite directions remained. The lack of a conventional tail rotor separates it from many attack aircraft, although it does not eliminate transmission complexity or maintenance needs. Development of the two-seat version began in the 1990s. A mock-up appeared in public in 1995, and the Ka-52 prototype first flew on June 25, 1997. The path from display to production included testing and equipment changes. An early demonstrator and a later service helicopter should not be treated as technically identical. Different production batches could also receive their own updates. Two crew positions allow flying, observation, communication, and weapon employment to be divided. That matters in a complex reconnaissance mission, when crews must monitor the air situation and coordinate with ground forces at the same time. Ka-52s carry sensors and weapon-control systems, but the actual fit depends on the variant. Detection cannot be described by one number without weather, terrain, and target conditions. The helicopter is intended for reconnaissance, ground-force support, and attack on various surface targets. A sortie's outcome depends on intelligence, crew preparation, communications, and opposing forces. The Alligator name alone says nothing about the weapons carried by a particular aircraft. Loads follow the mission, fuel requirement, and takeoff limitations, so handbook maxima do not equal every operational flight. Further branches emerged from the family, including the ship-oriented Ka-52K. Deck service calls for changes to stowage, equipment, and integration with a vessel. Such features cannot automatically be given to an ordinary Army Ka-52. Later upgrades of the land-based line also acquired their own designations and electronic differences. The Ka-52 shows Kamov's coaxial layout applied to a two-person attack helicopter. Its story is more than adding another seat to the Ka-50: crew tasks and mission systems developed too. A reliable profile should identify the version, year, and operator. That separates the prototype, a production aircraft, and a specialized naval variant and keeps technical comparisons meaningful. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"News, stories and rare images from the world of aviation","inLanguage":"en-GB","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"translationOfWork":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-52#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"The Ka-52 Alligator is a two-seat Kamov reconnaissance and attack helicopter with coaxial rotors, developed from the Ka-50 program.","name":"Kamov Ka-52 | OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-52","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-52"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity","@type":"Organization","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","logo":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"},"sameAs":["https://t.me/legkoenebo"]},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-52#article","@type":"Article","description":"The Ka-52 Alligator is a two-seat Kamov reconnaissance and attack helicopter with coaxial rotors, developed from the Ka-50 program.","headline":"Kamov Ka-52","inLanguage":"en-GB","thumbnailUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/52.webp","author":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"image":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-52#webpage"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-52#webpage"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"OnlyPlanes","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png"},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/52.webp","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/52.webp"}]} ``` ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://onlyplanes.ru/sitemap.md) for all pages.