On 06 November, new footage emerged of a Russian Mi-28N “Havoc” attack helicopter configured with an air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), which observers identified as the S8000 ‘Banderol’ or the closely related ‘Dan-T’. These ALCMs provide a range of 450-500 km, far exceeding the 15 km range of the Kh-38, which had been the Mi-28N’s longest-ranged weapon up to this point.
Granted, the stated ranges of ALCMs such as the Banderol or Dan-T depend on launch altitude and other factors. However, even at a much reduced range, ALCM-armed attack helicopters provide a new, if not a unique, stand-off range weapon (SOW) vector. First, attack helicopters can fly at low altitudes, often below the reach of long-range air-defence radars. Gunships could also use terrain for additional cover by flying at nap-of-the-earth (NOE). Second, attack helicopters can operate from a wide range of environments, including unprepared runways and rough sites, thereby allowing for rapid, dynamic SOW allocation.
Indeed, Russia is not unique in taking this approach with its gunships. The United States, for example, is also working on a comparable ALCM solution, with the US Marine Corps (USMC)-led Red Wolf project aiming to give the AH-1Z Viper a 350 km strike effector, for example. Likewise, Türkiye’s Roketsan developed the Çakır, a 275 kg cruise missile with an air-launched range of 200 km, for use from helicopters.
Pakistan is not far behind and, arguably, is at the cusp of fielding similar capabilities through a SOW-ready platform in the Chinese Z-10ME-02 as well as new ALCMs under development, notably the Rasoob 250.
Currently, there are at least five known Pakistan Army Aviation Corps (PAA) Z-10ME-02s – with at least one inducted by the PAA in Pakistan and the rest undergoing flight testing. A Chinese blogger also posted a photo of a China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) display stating that Pakistan ordered 30 Z-10MEs, aligning with the requirement it set out with the ill-fated T129 deal in 2018.
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