Key point is, both MI-28 and KA-50 are genuine "Heavy Armored Helicopters".
Strictly speaking, the MI-28, with a design takeoff weight of 12 tons, is already an "overweight" armed helicopter. Even the slightly lighter KA-50 has a design takeoff weight of over 10 tons and is likely to reach 11 tons, not much lighter than the MI-28.
Clearly, this is the crux of the matter.
Heavy Armored Helicopters are definitely more powerful in combat, yet similarly, they are bound to be more expensive.
But the problem is, compared to the slightly lighter Medium Armored Helicopters, Heavy Armored Helicopters are definitely not cost-effective, even arguably quite poor in that regard.
Speaking frankly, the longer range, stronger survivability, and greater load capacity of Heavy Armored Helicopters are more valuable in offensive operations.
This is also why the West Luosha insists on using Heavy Armored Helicopters.
