Week of January 13, 1997
Kamov Supplements The Black Shark With An Alligator Last month
the Kamov design bureau showed off its latest helicopter, the Ka-52 Alligator,
outside the country for the first time during Air India 96 in Bangalore.
The appearance of the Alligator was not a surprise, though, because the
aircraft had been unveiled at the Moscow Air Show in September 1995, where
the Ka-52 was exhibited in the shape of a full-scale mock-up. The aircraft
shown in India is the first Ka-52 built. According to Kamov, it will have
its maiden flight later this year.
Mi-24 needs replacing
Since this first Russian battlefield helicopter became operational, it has never been used in the role for which it was created. Instead of participating in an all-arms attack against powerful defense lines of hostile motorized infantry, the Mi-24 has been forced to act primarily in counter-insurgency roles. The only exception was the war between Iraq and Iran, where Mi-24s performed antitank missions. And again, it was not the type of hostilities for which the helicopter was originally intended. The Soviet military was happy with the Mi-24 until the advent of the Bell AH-1S Cobra armed with TOW anti-tank missiles. Comparative analysis revealed that the American chopper was more effective against armoured vehicles. This lead Russian helicopter makers and their only customer to radical changes in requirements to battlefield helicopters. The main task for them now was anti-tank missions.
Kamov's offerNikolai Kamov, from whom the design bureau takes its name, built his
first helicopter in 1947, the Ka-8 "flying motorbike" with coaxial
rotors. The unusual machine was much sought after by the Soviet Navy, and
the designer soon received an order for a deck launchable, anti-submarine
helicopter. Under the designation "Ka-15" When it came to an anti-tank helicopter for the Army, Kamov naturally chose coaxial rotors. The choice of engines did not take a long time either - the only one available was the Klimov TVD-3-117 of 2,200 hp. To simplify maintenance at the field and increase survivability, the designer placed two engines far away from each other, in nacelles attached to sides of the fuselage center section. Apart from the coaxial rotor system, Kamov's designs had always featured compactness to fit into the limited space available on Soviet destroyers for deck helicopters. Following tradition, designers decided to have only one crew member, which reduced both fuselage weight and cross-section. The desire to achieve a high speed resulted in installation of retractable threepoint landing gear. In order to keep the fuselage as small as possible, it was decided to place the bulk of weaponry on four underwing pylons under stub wings. At this point the aerodynamics of the helicopter were determined. In the Soviet Union the aircraft was referred to as the V-80 ("Vertolet vosmidesyatykh," or Helicopter of the 1980s), whereas the West called it "Hokum."
Armament and armouryRapid development of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles in the seventies made aircraft-makers fit their machines with new-generation air-to-surface missiles. Thus armed, the helicopter is able to destroy targets on the front line, remaining out of the reach of hostile air-defense. The V-80 received the Shkval automatic sight system for the Vikhr anti-tank missiles. The latter are supersonic, laser-guided weapons with a range of 8 km. When fitted with cumulative warheads, they feature a 800-mm armour-penetration ability. Alternatively, with non-proximity fuse and fragmentation warhead, they can be used against aircraft flying at a speed of up to 800 km/h or stationary targets like buildings, artillery sites, positions of infantry, and so forth. The missilery was supplemented by a single-barrel 30-mm 2A42 gun from the BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle. To achieve a high accuracy of firing, the gun was attached to the starboard fuselage, near the helicopter's center of gravity. The barrel is gyro-stabilized to compensate for vibrations of the fuselage, and movable with appropriate angles being +10 to -45 in elevation, and 15 in azimuth. The V-80 pilots received not only armament, but also the best armor protection ever attempted on helicopters. The cockpit is framed with steel aluminium shields weighing 300 kg, which makes it practically impenetrable to 20-mm shells. The V-80's load-bearing structure is made of steel to give the helicopter the ability to absorb damage. Where possible, designers applied composites; their share in the structural weight accounts for 35%. The six rotor blades are made of super-strong plastics. They can provide adequate lift after sustaining several bullet holes.
Comparative and assessment trialsThe first V-80 had its maiden flight on 17 June 1982 with Nikolai Bezdetnov at the controls. The Mil design bureau, the Kamov's rival, first flew its Mi-28 almost simultaneously. The two contenders entered a long period of competition for the right to enter mass production, a period that has not ended yet. The comparative Mi-28/V-80 fly-off showed that Ataka and Shturm missiles used on the Mi-28 had an effective range of 5 km, whereas the V-80's Vikhr range was 8 km. Effective target-acquisition range for the Mi-28's and V-80's aiming systems was found to be 6 and 10 km respectively. The V-80 fired better with 30-mm shells thanks to lower vibration levels, better stabilization system of the gun and location of the latter (near the helicopter's center of gravity rather than under the nose on the Mi-28). The crew-rescue system on the V-80's is more radical: instead of the Mi-28's "passive rescue system," special rams to soften the impact, the Kamov helicopter uses the Zvezda K-37-800 "zero-zero" ejection seat in conjunction with explosive bolts responsible for detaching blades from the rotor hub. The coaxial rotor system on the V-80 has the following advantages over normal "main + tail rotors" configuration. First, the absence of an anti-torque rotor means better survivability. According to statistics, 30% of helicopter losses during the Afghanistan conflict were due to damage of tail rotors or their transmission. Second, the Ka-50 can perform maneuvers that an adversary does not expect, including ones referred to as super-agility. At the same time, the coaxial rotor system has its disadvantages - high manufacturing cost and added complexities for the control system. Major General Boris Vorobyov, chief of the Pilot Training Center of Russian Ground Forces Aviation, summarized the results of the fly-off. "The Kamov machine is a genuine breakthrough in helicopter building. It put an end to the widely acknowledged stereotype that only two crew members could fly, search for targets, detect and destroy them on the battlefield. The target guidance and search system on the V-80 is extremely convenient. When a tank appears at a range of 8-10 km all one needs to do is to frame it, switch on the automatic lock-on mode and open fire." The Arseniev-based Progress mass production factory assembled its first "Hokum" in 1990. The initial batch of 12 helicopters had been delivered by 1995. They are now undergoing thorough testing in the Russian Army units with the aim to identify and eliminate shortcomings before entering mass production. Officially, the state acceptance trials were successfully completed in 1994, and the helicopter received the designation "Ka-50" (the V-80 is the name given by the manufacturer). Then, in August 1995, President Yeltsin issued a decree adding the Ka-50 to the list of weapons accepted for service with the Russian Ground Forces.
V-80-Sh-2: two-seater version capable of night flyingThe period of various tests and trials was long enough that the basic model became somewhat outdated. This made Kamov and Progress carry out a two-stage modernization program. The first stage was conducted during 1986-1994; it included installation of more effective equipment and systems. The second stage was the creation of the Ka-52 (manufacturer's name V-80-Sh-2), a two-seat version of the Ka-50. Unofficial, but widely used names are "Black Shark" for the Ka-50 and "Alligator" for the Ka-52. At first, the V-80-Sh-2 was meant to be a "flying desk" for pilots being converted to the Ka-50. However, the worldwide trend to change from daylight to night combat flying turned the two-seater into something more than just a trainer. Now Kamov says the Ka-52 and Ka-50 will supplement each other in mixed combat groups. Sergei Mikheev, the Kamov General Designer, states, "The Ka-52 is not a successor to the Ka-50; on the contrary, the nimble and cheap Ka-50 will shine with new colors on the background of its heavy and thoughtful sister." The Ka-52 first prototype was assembled in a less than a year, mainly because it had 85% parts-commonalty with the previous model. The major external difference is a larger cockpit for two crew members seating side-byside. The Ka-52 is heavier than the Ka-50 (9,800 kg versus 10,400). As a result, its maximum level speed is 300 km/h against of 310, vertical speed at 2,500m being 8 m/s against 10 m/s. The static ceiling is 3,600 m instead of 4,000 m, maximum load factor +3.0g instead of +3.5g. Ferry and combat ranges did not change much, being 1,400 km, combat range 460 km in the case of the Ka-50. The empty weight for the Ka-52 is not disclosed; for the Ka-50 this figure is 7,700kg. The Ka-52 first prototype is fitted with a combination of Russian and French equipment, which includes the Navigation and Attack System for Helicopters (NASH) incorporating a Victor IR camera by Thomson-CSF Optronique, integrated with a gyro-stabilized sight, four SMD 66 liquid color displays, a Nadir 10 flight management system linked to a Topstar GPS receiver, a stratus laser gyro attitude, a heading reference system, a Doppler radar, and a Heads-Up-Display (HUD). An electro-optical TV pod is installed in the nose; both pilots have helmet-mounted sights. Sextant Avionique of France acted as the system integrator. On display at Bangalore, the Alligator was seen carrying X-25 surface-to-air and R-73 air-to-air missiles. Typical weapons load, however, is 12 Vikhr antitank missiles and 40 80-mm unguided rockets on four underwing pylons. Alternatively, the helicopter can carry 23-mm cannon pods, 130-mm unguided rockets and bombs with a total weight up to 2,000 kg. The 30-mm gun has selective feed from two ammunition boxes for 250 rounds each.
VPK MAPO and customersSo far the V-80 program has been financed only from the military budget. Although in the last four years the Defense Ministry continued to provide money for the project, funds came to the manufacturer after extensive delays. So far orders from the MoD (Ministry of Defense) have been limited, despite the fact that Russian Army Aviation urgently needs at least 200 new anti-tank helicopters to replace its worn-out Mi-24s. In an effort to get foreign orders, the Kamov design bureau and Klimov, the engine manufacturer, have become members of the powerful VPK MAPO, which has shown a considerable progress in overseas sales recently (In 1995 alone, MAPO-MiG exported aircraft and weapons systems worth US $1 billion). The Progress factory has also expressed its willingness to join VPK MAPO. The structural changes in the Russian military industrial complex have brought a new step in the evolution of the V-80 - the Kamov design bureau has started work on integration of flight control, aiming and flight management systems of its helicopters with MiG fighters. In December, during the recent visit to Moscow of Slovakian defense minister Jan Sitek, Russia agreed in principle to deliver six Ka-50s as a means of paying off the Russian state debt to Slovakia, which amounts to US $800 million. The deliveries may start in the first half of 1997. Sergei Mikheev says there are also several potential clients for the Ka-50 in Southeast Asia. Those are believed to be India and Malaysia. With the price per helicopter at between US $12 -14 million, the Black Shark seems to have a better cost/efficiency ratio than its Western rivals. The Ka-52, which is referred to by the Russian mass media as the "helicopter for the 21 century," has also attracted the attention of foreigners. According to the Kamov people, the design bureau received offers from the US and Israel to conduct comparative trials between the Ka-52 and Commanche. The Americans are even ready to buy one or two Alligators for this purpose. Kamov agreed to sell its helicopters, but only in larger quantities. For such rich clients the order must exceed 10-12 airframes (to form a squadron), the Russian manufacturer says. | |
The history of the Ka-52 can be traced back to the late seventies, when
the Kamov design bureau decided to take a chance in competition with Mil
for the best successor to the Mi-24.
it entered service
in 1955. Since then the Kamov design bureau has been the major developer
of helicopters for the Soviet and Russian Navy. All Kamov designs featured
a coaxial rotor system layout, including the Ka-15, Ka-25, Ka-27, Ka-29
for naval aviation; and the Ka-18, Ka-26 and Ka-32 for civilian use.
