Black Sea Fleet naval pilots begin Ka-31R flight training

Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet Begin Training on Kamov Ka-31R Helicopter

The Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet has started training crews to fly its new Kamov Ka-31R airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) helicopter.

In training, the student pilots are practicing taxiing, take-offs, helicopter control, radar operation and landing the Ka-31R. During the first stage of training, the flights are led by an instructor, tutoring the trainees at the helm of the aircraft and then from the navigator’s seat to allow them to develop more independent piloting skills. The next stage of flight crew training will expand the flights to include taking off and landing from a ship – anchored and moving – along with performing other tasks at sea.

Russian MoD Ka-31R Helicopter
Russian MoD

In its own news release, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation said: “Due to significant differences between the Ka-31R and Ka-27 and Ka-29, the Black Sea Fleet has developed a [programme] for retraining existing crews of naval aviation helicopters for a new type of aircraft, and training activity for pilots is included in the fleet’s combat training plan.”

The Russian Navy has 12 Ka-31R helicopters on order, with two having been delivered as of March 2020. These aircraft are based at the 859th Training Centre of Naval Aviation in Yeysk, in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

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