The specialists are convinced that fully composite parts are more suitable for use in desert areas of operations. The experience of usage of Russian aerospace force´s (RuAF) helicopters in the Syrian campaign will serve as a reason for replacement of classical metallic rotor blades for composite ones. The first machine to be equipped with such rotor blades became modernized Mi-28NM attack helicopter. According to the RuAF´s commander Viktor BONDAREV, first deliveries of modernized Mi-28NM will take place no sooner than in 2017. Starting from this year, a mass re-equipment of current helicopter´s blades will be necessary for the whole fleet. “The exploitation of helicopters in desert and sandy areas and dusty winds, take-offs and landings on ground from unpaved surfaces always created additional stress on the helicopter´s blades”, said “Vertolety Rossii” spokesman. This was also the case in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt and Libya, simply wherever there is a sand, instead of solid ground and sandy winds up to several hundred meters. It´s abrasive. It is and was a problem, which can´t be completely solved, only reduced to certain extent. Thus we are re-fitting our helicopters with composite rotor blades.

According to the statement of the “Vertolety Rossii”, composite rotor blades are more durable, can sustain greater battle damage, more resitant towards the elements and their lifetime is much longer, than that of metallic blades. Until now, the ministry of defense was planning to acquire only metallic helicopter blades. The ministry has explained, that this was due to constructional specifics of the blades – which consist of several elements, which allowed for partial replacement of the damaged segment, if damaged in battle. Composite blades are not able to be replaced this way. They need to be replaced as a whole piece, which would be economically inefficient, due to high attrition of the attack helicopter´s fleet. Representative of the “Vertolety Rossii” holding said, that Moscow helicopter plant of M.L. Mil has developed and introduced new technology of rotor blades from composite materials, mainly from carbon fibers. One of its key factors is, that they are produced and polymerized in the press-form in one piece, not assembled from longerons and tail sections, as it was before. In the “PAO KVZ” (Kazan helicopter plant), the composites are used for rotor blades of new “Ansat” and Mi-38 helicopters. Fully composite rotor blades of main and tail rotors are fitted to Mi-38 and Mi-35M (modernized Mi-24, with Mi-28´s type blades), Mi-171A2 (equipped with Mi-38´s main and tail rotor blades) and also to the heavy Mi-26M2.