MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. Moscow may soon sign a contract with Egypt on supplying Kamov Ka-52K helicopters designed for operation aboard Egyptian Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, Russian presidential aide for military and technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin told TASS on Tuesday.

"It is true, we won the tender, but that does not necessarily mean that a contract is signed instantly, although huge piles of work have been handled and everything is pretty close to the moment when the Ka-52K contract will be inked. I do hope this will happen soon," Kozhin said.

He noted that without the navigation equipment and command and communication centers the helicopters may have problems with keeping in touch with the ship.

"Talks on this theme are in progress, but at this point I cannot yet say that there is a contract. One should take note of our advantage over competitors, bearing in mind that the helicopters are of Russian manufacture. The Mistral ships were custom-made to accommodate our helicopters. We hope that the talks will yield positive results," Kozhin said.

In June, the head of the federal service for military-technical cooperation, Dmitry Shugayev, told the media that Russia had won a bidding contest for providing deck helicopters Ka-52K for the Egyptian amphibious assault ships Mistral.

The Ka-52K Katran helicopter is based on a range of shipborne rotocraft accepted by the Russian Navy for service. This range includes Ka-25, Ka-27, Ka-29 and Ka-31 helicopters.

The Ka-52K is designed to carry out patrol missions, provide fire support for amphibious assaults and deal with anti-amphibious assault defense on the frontline and in tactical depth.

The KA-52K differs from the baseline version by its folding stub wing specifically developed for carrying heavy armament and the mechanism of folding rotor blades allowing it to compactly fit into a ship’s compartment below the deck.

The Ka-52 shipborne version’s reduced sizes allow increasing the number of these choppers aboard a ship. The crew’s armored cabin and the catapult system allow pilots to safely leave the helicopter. The helicopter’s shipborne version also features a rescue system for people in distress at sea.