Anyone know why they haven't made a sim of BS's cousin? It seems like it would be a no brainer and would be a great addition to team missions to have 1 or 2 52s with 4 to 6 50s.

I said the same thing. GrayGhost told me, its because most of it is classified still.

Really? I would think that since they are basically the same gen, they'd be either both classified or both open.

Could have something to do with the KA-50's being phased out. I think there are around 12 or so in service, but they've all but halted production of them in favor of the havoc and the alligator. Since the 52 is going to be used a lot more, they may not want a whole lot of info about it getting out. Thats just speculation of course, but just saying.

I thought the same thing, too. Really the only difference between the 50/52 is the 2 seat cockpit, flir ball, new avionics, stuff like that. Same weapons, same engines, same airframe, all that. Should be a breeze to model... ah who knows.

Making a study simulation of any vehicle is not as simple as just choosing to do it. There is in an incredible amount of work that goes into modeling the vehicle: not just the visuals, but all the systems and dynamics. Although the Ka-52 is also a coaxial rotor helicopter, the front end is completely different, and would require significant effort to model to the level of detail that DCS consumers expect.

I don't know about the classified aspect, but just getting all the info needed and getting a team to work it is daunting: they're currently busy on other projects. Will ED ever do a Ka-52? Dunno, but I'm not expecting it anytime soon.

The airframe should be very similar indeed, but the 2-seat cockpit, FLIR (don't forget the radar either!) and avionics represent huge differences in their own right. It's in many ways a bigger jump than going from the AH-64A to the AH-64D, so don't underestimate effort required to model it. Particularly so the second crew member - that alone pretty much kills the idea dead for the near term, IMHO.

Those Ka-52 drivers sure have a nice office though:

http://s59.radikal.ru/i166/1104/08/031ef37740cf.jpg

(production version cockpit, AFAIK)

it's double seat. unless there's a capable ai, you'll be doing the work of two people.

also, it's a support helicopter, not attack.

Apart from looking a bit similar and sharing a few components, the Ka-50 and Ka-52 have very little in common.

The UH-1 and AH-1 are cousins and share many components, you couldn't claim they are almost the same aircraft though.

They could be the same version of the aircraft with nothing more than a change in how you flip a switch and one would be classified and the other not. Classification works based on what's classified and what's not, not on what makes sense to you - just FYI

As for them being next gen, not even close. The Ka-52 of today is nothing like the idea of the Ka-52 back then. It's an entirely new aircraft with a different purpose.

Looks a little more sophisticated than the Ka-50.