Formed in 1948 by Prof Dr Ing Nikolai Ilyich Kamov, this OKB originated in an experimental autogyro production plant operating in Moscow from 1940 to 1943. Kamov's initial brief was to design helicopters for naval use. Since the Ka-10 of 1949, Kamov helicopters have had coaxial contrarotating rotors; only the Ka-60/62, under development, have single main rotor, with anti-torque Fenestron. It was reported in September 2000 that a new transport helicopter, to compete against Western NH90 and S-92, is under development.
Since 1996, Kamov has been a member of the RSK 'MiG' consortium. It is 49 per cent state-owned, and its design bureau and experimental construction plant employed 2,500 people in 1998. Under plans announced in May 2001 by the Russian government, Kamov and MiG will be in the major aerospace grouping which also includes Tupolev, Aviastar, Aviacor and those factories producing Kamov helicopters, namely the Arsenyev factory (Ka-50) and the Kumertau factory (Ka-32 family). In 2002-03, Kamov was in the process of moving its flight test activities from the factory site at Lyubertsy to Chkalovsky, in the Shchelkovo area of Moscow Region, to escape the restrictions of urban development.
The affiliated Aero-Kamov Air Transportation Company operates a fleet of Ka-32s for diverse tasks, including firefighting, and has helicopters based in Russia, Canada and South Africa.