Leaked Documents Suggest China May Acquire Up to 50 Modernized Ka‑52s from Russia

 

Recent reports (March 2026) based on leaked Russian military-industrial documents suggest plans to supply China with 48–50 Ka‑52M attack helicopters. Although there has been no official confirmation from either Russia or China, the details in these documents provide a striking glimpse into potential Sino-Russian cooperation in advanced rotorcraft.

Key Details from Leaked Documents

Contract Scope: Planning documents from April 2022 and July 2024 list the supply of 48 units of the modernized Ka‑52M.

Delivery Timeline: The projected deliveries are scheduled between 2025 and 2027.

Client Identification: The documents code the foreign customer as “156”, which analysts and media outlets link to China, given the volume of the order and prior military-industrial collaboration.

Operational Context and Implications

The Ka‑52M is a modernized derivative of the Ka‑52 “Alligator,” featuring upgraded avionics, targeting systems, and survivability improvements. For China, acquiring a batch of such advanced attack helicopters could boost both land and amphibious operational capabilities, while deepening technology and operational interoperability with Russian designs.

China’s Previous Interest: Ka‑52K and Naval Aspirations

This potential contract is not an isolated case. In 2021, reports suggested that the Kamov Ka-52K Katran — the naval, shipborne variant — was being evaluated by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) for use on its Type 075 amphibious assault ships. Interest in acquiring 36 Ka‑52K units underscored China’s ambitions to enhance expeditionary and sea-based attack capabilities.

While the current leaked documents focus on the Ka‑52 and Ka‑52M, analysts warn that the Ka‑52K should not be discounted, especially if China aims to operate the helicopters both from land bases and amphibious vessels, offering maximum flexibility.

This prospective deal illustrates the deepening military and industrial ties between Russia and China, extending beyond simple platform sales. Analysts note that these agreements often include technology transfer, munitions production support, and training of Chinese personnel in Russian facilities.

For regional and global observers, such a deal signals China’s ongoing strategy to diversify its attack helicopter fleet, acquire battle-proven systems, and reduce reliance on domestic designs for immediate operational capability.

Although not publicly confirmed, the leaked industrial documents suggest a significant step in Sino-Russian defense cooperation. The potential acquisition of Ka‑52M helicopters, alongside the continued interest in Ka‑52K naval variants, points to China’s intent to modernize and expand its rotary-wing strike capabilities for both land and amphibious 

Third Chinese Aircraft Carrier Nears Completion

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that the Jiangnan shipyard is beginning a three-year expansion that will include a new ship design and research center, additional workshops, fabrication facilities, quays, and other shipbuilding infrastructure. 

Some of the new shipyard will support the yard’s commercial vessel work but much appears to be focused on the aircraft carrier building program of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). China’s first aircraft carrier, the Type 001 Liaoning, was rebuilt on a gutted, unfinished Ukrainian aircraft carrier hull and might be considered a modernized variant of the Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier. China built an improved version of the Liaoning, designated the Type 001A, which it named the Shandong. PLAN’s third and fourth carriers will be an entirely new design called the Type 002. 

They are expected to be much larger than the Liaoning and Shandong, and unlike those ships, which use ramps to assist planes in take-off, are reported to feature electromagnetic catapults. 

thediplomat

China completes assembly of its second fixed naval aircrat JL-9

China's Guizhou Aircraft Industry Corporation (GAIC) has further fuelled speculation that it is developing a trainer aircraft suitable for carrier deck landings by announcing on 20 April via its Weixin social media site that it has assembled the first airframe under its 'Sea Mountain Eagle' project in record time.
The Weixin post relates to an aircraft for the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) and describes the rapid assembly of components to complete the first airframe, but gives no further detail about the aircraft and avoids any mention of carrier operations.
janes

Image suggests that new China´s aircraft carrier will have three catapult launchers

A photograph published on social media by one of the companies that develops China’s aircraft carriers appears to suggest that the latest vessel will be equipped with a catapult launch system, unlike either of its predecessors.
China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) uploaded the picture on Wednesday, the state-backed tabloid Global Times reported, although it was taken down later the same day.
The image – which appeared to be an artist’s impression rather than an actual photograph – showed China’s Type 002 carrier – the country’s third carrier and second to be domestically developed – with a flat flight deck installed with three catapult-like devices.
The image was apparently a snapshot of a large poster that hangs on a wall inside CSIC’s boardroom.
In it, the new vessel is seen at sea, flanked by China’s two other aircraft carriers – both of which have ski-jump decks – and a number of destroyers and other ships.
scmp

China Navy Liaoning carrier group reaches initial operational capability

China’s first aircraft carrier group, formed around the carrier Liaoning , has reached initial operational capability (IOC).
The exercises conducted by the carrier group have become more demanding and “the carrier formation’s comprehensive system of offence and defence has been effectively tested”, MND spokesperson told reporters during a press conference.
Although training and developing a cadre of pilots capable of operating the carrier-borne J-15s at sea has been a dominant activity since the commissioning of Liaoning , the carrier has also completed several exercises with its escort group.
According to the state-owned China Daily newspaper, Liaoning and its escorts headed into the South China Sea after taking part in the Fleet Review on 12 April, and “conducted a series of combat training operations, practising air defence, anti-ship and anti-submarine tactics, and strikes against land targets”.
Following these exercises, the carrier and its escort group sailed east of Taiwan and into the Western Pacific where they conducted further training, which “involved sophisticated situations in the air and on the water” and tested the commanders’ ability “to make decisions when faced with complicated circumstances”.
The group was monitored at the time by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).
janes

China live-fires aircraft carrier group amid Taiwan tensions with US

China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first exercises with live ammunition, in a show of strength as tensions with the US and Taiwan escalate.
China’s first and only aircraft carrier led large-scale exercises in the Bohai Sea, the navy of the People’s Liberation Army announced late on Thursday.
The drills involved dozens of ships and aircraft in the carrier group and more than 10 air-to-air, anti-ship and air defence missiles were tested, it said.
The group also performed reconnaissance exercises, tests of early warning systems, aerial interception and missile defence.
The goal of the exercises was to “test the performance of weapons and the training level of the team”, the statement said.
China’s national broadcaster CCTV showed footage of J-15 fighter jets taking off from the carrier and firing missiles.
The drills come as a heated war of words intensifies between Beijing and the US president-elect, Donald Trump, who broke convention by speaking directly to the Taiwanese president, Tsai Ing-wen, and even suggested Washington could jettison the decades-old “One China policy” – a diplomatic compromise allowing the US to do business with both China and Taiwan while only recognising Beijing.
Since Trump’s and Tsai’s phone call, China has sent military aircraft close to Japanese territory near the Miyako Strait and reportedly sent a bomber to circumnavigate disputed territory in the resource-rich South China Sea – flights its air force has described as “routine”.
The US Pacific commander said on Wednesday that the US would keep challenging China’s “assertive, aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea” despite Beijing’s rapid development of artificial islands capable of hosting military planes.

Satellite images published this week by a US thinktank showed structures on Chinese-built artificial islands that appeared to be large anti-aircraft guns and close-in weapons systems (CIWS) designed to take out incoming missiles and enemy aircraft, the thinktank said.
China’s defence ministry said the construction was mostly for civilian use and necessary military installations were for self-defence.
Beijing is seeking to build a “blue water” navy capable of operating in distant seas and has embarked on an extensive project to modernise its two million-strong military, the world’s largest.
The Liaoning is a secondhand Soviet ship built more than 25 years ago. It was commissioned in 2012 after extensive refits.
In December 2015 China’s defence ministry announced the country was building a second aircraft carrier based entirely on domestic designs.
theguardian

China says aircraft carrier now ready for combat

China's first aircraft carrier is now ready to engage in combat, marking a milestone for a navy that has invested heavily in its ability to project power far from China's shores.
The Liaoning's political commissar said in an interview with Tuesday's Global Times newspaper that his ship is "constantly prepared to fight against enemies," signaling a change from its past status as a platform for testing and training.
Senior Captain Li Dongyou's comments appear to indicate that the ship has taken on its full aviation complement. Purchased as an incomplete hull from Ukraine more than a decade ago, it was commissioned in 2013.
China hasn't described specifically how it intends to use the Liaoning, but it is seen as helping reinforce China's increasingly assertive claims in the South China Sea in the face of challenges from the U.S. Navy and others.
militarytimes

China says it is building second aircraft carrier

China on Thursday confirmed that it is building its second aircraft carrier.
Col. Yang Yujun, a spokesman from the Ministry of Defense, told reporters that the 50,000 ton China-designed vessel is being constructed in the northern port of Dalian with domestic technology.
In February, officials in Changzhou, eastern China, said Jiangsu Shangshang Cable Group — a local company — won a contract to supply cabling for the carrier, but their comments were soon deleted from the internet.
Chinese media has published images appearing to show the development of the vessel. The country's aircraft carrier program is a state secret.
China's existing aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, isn't yet fully operational. In October, the Associated Press reported that 27 U.S. Navy personnel visited it, where they discussed issues including training.
Yang said work on the second carrier has drawn on China's experience refitting the Liaoning, which was purchased from Ukraine in 1998.
He said the new carrier will have a ski-jump take-off, unlike the the Liaoning, but did not say when it will enter service, according to Reuters.
China, which has included new frigates, destroyers and nuclear submarines in its naval fleet, claims territorial sovereignty to virtually all of the South China Sea, which includes some of the world's busiest trade routes. Five other countries have competing claims in the same region.
usatoday

Chinese Submarine Stalked USS.Ronald Reagan

A Chinese attack submarine stalked the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan near Japan last month in the closest encounter between a carrier and a People’s Liberation Army Navy submarine since 2006, according to American defense officials.
The Chinese submarine sailed very close to the Reagan during the weekend of Oct. 24.
The incident occurred as the Reagan sailed from its home port to the Sea of Japan around the southern end of Japan.
Days later, in the Sea of Japan, the Reagan was targeted for a close flyby by two Russian Tu-142 bombers that flew within a mile of the ship at an altitude of 500 feet. U.S. Navy jets were scrambled to escort the bombers away from the carrier group.
The submarine encounter also occurred days before the USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, carried out a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea.
The Lassen’s passage within 12 miles of a disputed island in the South China Sea on Oct. 26 was fiercely denounced by the Chinese government. Chinese spokesmen, both military and civilian, said the passage was a violation of Beijing’s territorial sovereignty, a claim rejected by the United States, which said the ship was sailing in international waters.
Pacific Fleet and Pacific Command spokesmen declined to comment on the submarine encounter.
freebeacon

China warns U.S. NAVY P-8A surveillance plane

The Chinese navy issued warnings eight times as a U.S. surveillance plane on Wednesday swooped over islands that Beijing is using to extend its zone of influence.
The series of man-made islands and the massive Chinese military build-up on them have alarmed the Pentagon, which is carrying out the surveillance flights in order to make clear the U.S. does not recognize China's territorial claims. The militarized islands have also alarmed America's regional allies.
"This is the Chinese navy ... This is the Chinese navy ... Please go away ... to avoid misunderstanding," a voice in English crackled through the radio of the aircraft.
This is the first time the Pentagon has declassified video of China's building activity and audio of Chinese challenges of a U.S. aircraft.
The aircraft flew at 15,000 feet in the air at its lowest point, but the U.S. is considering flying such surveillance missions even closer over the islands, as well as sailing U.S. warships within miles of them, as part of the new, more robust U.S. military posture in the area.
Soon after the Chinese communication was heard, its source appeared on the horizon seemingly out of nowhere: an island made by China some 600 miles from its coastline.
The South China Sea is the subject of numerous rival -- often messy -- territorial claims over an area that includes fertile fishing grounds and potentially rich reserves of undersea natural resources. China is increasingly showing that even far from its mainland, it sees itself as having jurisdiction over the body of water.
Wednesday's mission was specifically aimed at monitoring Chinese activities on three islands that months ago were reefs barely peaking above the waves. Now they are massive construction projects that the U.S. fears will soon be fully functioning military installations.
China's alarming creation of entirely new territory in the South China Sea is one part of a broader military push that some fear is intended to challenge U.S. dominance in the region. Beijing is sailing its first aircraft carrier; equipping its nuclear missiles with multiple warheads; developing missiles to destroy US warships; and, now, building military bases far from its shores.
In just two years, China has expanded these islands by 2,000 acres -- the equivalent of 1,500 football fields -- and counting, an engineering marvel in waters as deep as 300 feet.
In video filmed by the P8's surveillance cameras, it can be see that in addition to early warning radar, Fiery Cross Reef is now home to military barracks, a lofty lookout tower and a runway long enough to handle every aircraft in the Chinese military.
The Chinese navy ordered the P8 out of the airspace eight times on this mission alone.
Each time, the American pilots told them calmly and uniformly that the P8 was flying through international airspace.
That answer sometimes frustrated the Chinese radio operator on the other end.
Once he responds with exasperation: "This is the Chinese navy ... You go!"
cnn.com

France could sell Russian Mistral warships to China

The ongoing saga over France's potential sale of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia took a new turn Monday with Chinese media reporting that representatives from the French in Shanghai could propose a deal to sell the warships to China.
In recent weeks Moscow has taken a firm, if conciliatory, stance on the Mistral deal. Last month President Vladimir Putin announced that his officials did not intend to seek any penalties or fines from France over the postponed sale but instead would seek only repayment of the costs incurred on the Russian side if the sale were to fall through.
The problem with a China deal is that the ships have been built to Russian specifications. The first of the two, the Vladivostok, has already been taken on sea trials by Russian naval personnel, while the second ship, the Sevastopol, now also appears to be ready for sea trials.
Since the onset of the crisis in Ukraine, the French government has agonised over the €1.2 billion contract (£863 million, $1.3 billion). After tense negotiations, France succeeded in getting existing contracts excluded from the European Union's package of sanctions against Russia over its role in supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine.
With last September's deadline for the handover of the Vladivostok fast approaching, however, Hollande imposed two conditions necessary for the sale: a cease-fire in Ukraine and progress toward a settlement over Ukraine's future.
Both of these conditions are unlikely to be met before Russia pulls the plug on the deal. So a new buyer has to be found, or the ships could end up as scrap.
But there's a one problem with the theory: It would still cost hundreds of millions of euros to refit the ships to meet China's requirements.
businessinsider

China building second aircraft carrier

China is building its second aircraft carrier, a senior naval officer has told media, the most explicit confirmation yet of a widely expected move that will boost Beijing’s maritime power.
China’s first aircraft carrier was a 300-metre Soviet-era vessel bought from Ukraine and commissioned in September 2012 -- at the time a milestone for the country’s growing military might.
newsltncomtw

Operational J-15s loaded onto China Navy's Liaoning aircraft carrier

The People's Liberation Army has begun loading operational J-15 carrier-based fighter jets onto the Liaoning, China's first and only aircraft carrier.
Recently leaked photos reveal that four J-15s have been moved onto the Liaoning, which will eventually be able to carry up to 24 fighter jets of similar size.
Unconfirmed reports state that the Liaoning conducted its first naval drills for 2015 between April 10 and April 18 in northeast China's Bohai Bay.
Though there is currently no confirmed publicly information about the specifications of the J-15, reports suggest that the fighter is based on the Su-33.
wantchinatimes

China Navy PLA Official Confirms 2nd Aircraft Carrier Under Construction

Satellite images on Google Maps indicate that Beijing has constructed a model aircraft carrier in Wuhan Province.
A People's Liberation Army Navy official has confirmed for the first time that China is building its second aircraft carrier.
China's second aircraft carrier is currently under construction and will be more advanced than the country's first carrier, the Liaoning, which was retrofitted from the Soviet-era carrier Varyag and commissioned in September 2012.
It is uncertain just how many aircraft carriers the country intends to build. Some have claimed as many as six carriers are needed to safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and interests abroad
defense-studies

Brazil may buy China's J-15

China was probably trying to interest Brazil in its first first generation carrier-based fighter, the J-15 according to a March 6 report in a Chinese-language military magazine based in Canada.
A military cooperation agreement may be signed to enhance the relationship between the People's Liberation Army Navy and the Brazilian Navy. As Brazil is still constructing its first nuclear-powered submarine, the SNB Alvaro Alberto and China may assist in training the crew. China could also benefit from the experience of the Brazilian Navy in operating an aircraft carrier and carrier-based aircraft.
China is continuing the improvement of J-15 fighters, as a steam-powered catapult will be installed on board China's future aircraft carrier, so stronger landing gear will be needed for the carrier-based fighter.
wantchinatimes

Indian Navy Set to Accelerate Second Indigenous Carrier as INS Viraat is Set to Decommission Next Year

The Indian Navy is accelerating the design and construction of its second domestic carrier as its oldest carrier leaves service next year.
The work to develop the carrier — thought to be called INS Vishnal — has been given a top priority to shore up capability gaps in the service following the planned retirement of INS Viraat — the former U.K. Royal Navy carrier Hermes next year.
Vishnal — the indigenous aircraft carrier-II (IAC-II) program — would take 10 to 12 years of construction and is seen as a hedge against China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) own domestic carrier program.
The PLAN has started to patrol more in the Indian Ocean in the last several years, which has prompted concern in Indian leadership.
The Indians are reportedly leaning toward a nuclear powered carrier and have determined it will feature a catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) — in line with the current generation of U.S. Nimitz-class carriers (CVN-68).
India’s other carriers — the Soviet-built Vikramaditya and the domestically built Vikrant (IAC-I) — currently are built around a short-take off but arrested recovery (STOBAR) system which require a sloped “ski-jump” ramp to allow aircraft to take off.
A CATOBAR system would allow Vishnal to not only launch heavier fighters than its current crop of Mikoyan MiG-29Ks but also heavier airborne surveillance aircraft.
The Indians have inquired about the inclusion of the General Atomics Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) that will launch aircraft off the new U.S. Gerald R. Ford-class of nuclear carrier.
A 65,000-ton nuclear powered CATOBAR Vishnal would be an exceedingly more complicated shipbuilding program.
Under the accelerated timeline, Vishnal could commission as early as 2033.
usni

More news leaks point to China's plans for second aircraft carrier

News that China is building its second aircraft carrier leaked out again on the weekend, once more through official civilian channels before the reports were pulled.
A city government microblog and an official newspaper, separately mentioned on Saturday that a power cable manufacturer in the city had "won a tender for the second aircraft carrier". The sources cited a city government economic and information technology conference held on Friday.
The defence ministry has kept tight-lipped about its plan for building aircraft carriers.
scmp

PLANAF J-15 jets complete second landing test aboard Liaoning

Eight pilots from the PLA Navy Air Force completed the second landing test on the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, in late November with their J-15 fighters.
A photo posted on the internet earlier this month showed at least four J-15 fighters on the carrier's flight deck. The country is moving closer to establishing its first carrier combat group.
The first landing test took place on Nov. 23, 2012 when a J-15 touched down aboard the carrier using its tailhook to stop before taking off from the Liaoning's ski-jump ramp. Between June and July 2013, pilots of J-15 fighters practiced their flying and landing skills from the PLA Navy's land bases to prepare for the second test.
wantchinatimes

Taiwan releases first firing footage of HF-3 'carrier killer'

Taiwan's Chung Shan Institute of Science & Technology has released footage showing the indigenously made Hsiung-Feng III (Brave Wind III, or HF-3) supersonic anti-ship cruise missile and Tien Kung III (Sky Bow III, or TK 3) surface-to-air missile system successfully completing test firings.
The footage is the first showing of these missiles in service.
The HF-3 featured in the test was launched from first-of-class frigate ROCS Cheng Kung (PFG-1101).
The HF-3 is the third in the Hsiung Feng series of surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missiles, all of which use an X-band monopulse planar array active radar seeker. Details of the missile were first released in 1998, and it was conceived by CSIST after the 1996 Taiwan Strait crisis. Its objective is to deny People's Liberation Army Navy warships access to the strait and to deter an amphibious invasion by reinforcing the potential for a high casualty rate.
janes

Chinese Carrier J-15 Fighter Now In Serial Production

China has put the Shenyang J-15 Flying Shark carrier-borne multirole fighter into serial production, with at least eight production examples known to be flying already. This is in addition to the six J-15 prototypes, some of which conducted carrier trials on board China’s refurbished former Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier, Liaoning.
Undated photos published on Chinese online forums in October showed J-15s bearing the tail numbers 107 and 108 operating from an undisclosed airfield in China. Both aircraft carried the Flying Shark motif on the tail, along with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ensign on the fuselage, similar to all production J-15s seen so far.
Earlier, in October 2013, Chinese state-run media showed news clips of J-15 production facilities at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in which they revealed a production aircraft said to be being readied for delivery to the PLAN. This was followed by photos of J-15s bearing tail numbers 100, 101, and 102.
usni.org