Kamov Ka-50 Black Shark Hokum

The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (Russian: Черная акула, NATO reporting name: Hokum A) is a single-seat Russian attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the Kamov design bureau. It was designed in the 1980s and adopted for service in the Russian army in 1995. It is currently manufactured by the Progress company in Arsenyev.

During the late 1990s, Kamov and Israeli Air Industries developed a tandem-seat cockpit version, the Kamov Ka-50-2 "Erdogan", to compete in Turkey's attack helicopter competition. Kamov also designed another two-seat variant, the Kamov Ka-52 "Alligator" (Russian: Аллигатор, NATO reporting name: Hokum B)

Development

The Ka-50 is the production version of the V-80Sh-1 prototype. Production of the attack helicopter was ordered by the Soviet Council of Ministers on 14 December 1987.[4] Jane's Information Group reported that the helicopter was under development in 1989.[5] Following initial flight testing and system tests the Council ordered the first batch of helicopters in 1990.[4] In September 1990 the first unclassified photograph of the helicopter was published in Jane's Defence Weekly, although it was identified only by its NATO codename 'Hokum'. The attack helicopter was first described publicly as the "Ka-50" in March 1992 at a symposium in the United Kingdom.[4]

The Ka-50 was designed to be small, fast, and agile to improve survivability and lethality. For minimal weight and size (thus maximum speed and agility) it was - uniquely among gunships - to be operated by a single pilot only. Kamov concluded after thorough research of helicopter combat in Afghanistan and other war zones that the typical attack mission phases of low-level approach, pop-up target acquisition, and weapon launch do not simultaneously demand navigation, maneuvering, and weapons operation of the pilot; and thus with well-designed support automation a single pilot can carry out the entire mission alone. However, it is still an unanswered question whether in practice the rank and file of Black Shark pilots would suffer from excess fatigue from this combined workload.[citation needed]
Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" on display

Like other Kamov helicopters, it features Kamov's characteristic contra-rotating co-axial rotor system, which removes the need for the entire tail-rotor assembly and improves the aircraft's aerobatic qualities - it can perform loops, rolls, and “the funnel” (circle-strafing) where the aircraft maintains a line-of-sight to the target while flying circles of varying altitude, elevation, and airspeed around it. Using two rotors means that a smaller rotor with slower-moving rotor tips can be used compared to a single rotor design. Since the speed of the advancing rotor tip is a primary limitation to the maximum speed of a helicopter, this allows a faster maximum speed than helicopters such as the AH-64. The elimination of the tail rotor is a qualitative advantage because the torque-countering tail rotor can use up to 30% of engine power. Furthermore, the vulnerable boom and rear gearbox are fairly common causes of helicopter losses in combat; the Black Shark's entire transmission presents a comparatively small target to ground fire. Kamov maintains that the co-axial drive assembly is built to survive hits from 23 mm ammunition like the other vital parts of the helicopter.[citation needed] The zero native torque also allows the aircraft to be fairly immune to wind strength and direction, and to have an unsurpassed turn rate in all travel speed envelopes.

The single seat configuration was considered undesirable by NATO. The first two Ka-50 prototypes had false windows painted on them.[6] The "windows" evidently worked as the first western reports of the aircraft were wildly inaccurate. For improved pilot survivability the Ka-50 is fitted with a NPP Zvezda K-37-800 ejection seat, which is a rare feature for a helicopter.[7] Before the rocket in the ejection seat deploys, the rotor blades are blown away by explosive charges in the rotor disc and the canopy is similarly jettisoned.

The first Ka-50 prototype was nicknamed "Werewolf", but Kamov's official name for the type is "Black Shark", this codename came from the appearance of the 5th prototype in the movie "Black Shark" ("Chernaya Akula"). As the Soviet Union's collapse vastly reduced military spending before the Ka-50 could go into full-scale production, a relatively small number of these aircraft have been built. Reportedly the Ka-50's development took place in record time, as Kamov had the forethought of placing liaison engineers at major component suppliers and systems subcontractors.[citation needed]

The Ka-50 and its modifications have been chosen as the special forces support helicopter while the Mi-28 has become the main army's gunship. The production of Ka-50 was recommenced in 2006. It was announced in late 2008 that only five more Ka-50s would be produced, and that production would be reconfigured to make exclusively the more adaptable and advanced Ka-52s.[citation needed]
[edit] Ka-50-2 Erdogan
Ka-50-2 "Erdogan"

In 1997, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in cooperation with the Kamov bureau entered the Ka-50-2 Erdogan (Turkish for "Born Warrior") in a Turkish design competition for a $4 billion contract for 145 (later changed to 50) combat helicopters.[8]

The Ka-50-2 is a tandem cockpit twin-seater variant of the Ka-50 that featured a modern, Israeli-made "glass cockpit" avionics and a turret-mounted folding (for landing clearance) 30 mm cannon instead of the fixed cannon on the Ka-50. It features combat proven avionics and advanced anti-tank guided missiles for a high level of combat effectiveness. The helicopter has excellent flight performance, and high combat survivability due to its coaxial rotor technology. It is equipped with IAI's flexible modular avionics suite, which can be readily tailored to meet the TLF's operational requirements and provides growth potential.[8]

IAI and Kamov successfully completed demonstration flights of the Russian helicopter with IAI's Core Avionics. These demonstration flights demonstrated the helicopter's "glass cockpit" with multifunctional displays and Control & Display Unit (CDU) driven by centralized Mission and Display computers, flight navigation and the operation of the Helicopter Multi-Mission Optronic Stabilized Payload (HMOSP) targeting system. The demonstration flights included night mission capability demonstrations, utilizing Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and the day/night targeting system.[8][Copyrighted text]

The Erdogan, Eurocopter Tiger, AH-64 Apache, AH-2 Rooivalk and A129 Mangusta helicopters, lost to an improved version of AH-1 SuperCobra. In the end the contract went to the A129 in 2007.[9] This outcome was due to several technical and contractual problems with the proposals.
[edit] Ka-50N and Ka-50Sh

Because of the limited night-time capability of the original Ka-50 "Shkval" TV sighting and targeting system, modified versions of the single-seat Ka-50 were built. They were named Ka-50N ("Nochnoy", rus. "Night") and Ka-50Sh ("Shar", "Sphere" — because of the spherical FLIR turret). Many variants were tried, on some the original "Shkval" was supplemented by a thermal imaging system, while on others — completely replaced by "Samshite" day-and-night system (also used on Ka-52), including French SAGEM or Thomson thermal imagers. None of those have entered mass production so far.[citation needed]
[edit] Ka-52 "Alligator"
Ka-52 "061", Zhukovski, 2009

The Ka-52 is another modification of the basic Ka-50 design. It features a two-seat side-by-side cockpit, and is designed to detect targets and redistribute them among supporting Ka-50s. In comparison to the original Ka-50, it has a somewhat "softer" nose profile due to the wider cockpit, reduced cockpit armor, and large nose-mounted radome. Equipment includes radar with two antennas—mast-mounted for aerial targets and nose-mounted for ground targets, and "Samshite" day-and-night TV/thermal sighting system in two spherical turrets (one over the cockpit and second under the nose). The Ka-52 retains the side mounted cannon and six wing mounted hardpoints of the original Ka-50.[10]

Development of the Ka-52 began in 1994 in Russia. Economical and political problems prevented the Ka-52 from going into full scale production. Currently only a few exist. Serial production of the Ka-52 was started in autumn 2008.[11]
[edit] Design
[edit] Weapons

The aircraft carries a substantial load of weapons in four external hardpoints under the stub wings plus two on the wingtips, a total of some 2,300 kg depending on the mix.[citation needed]

The main armament are the twelve laser-guided Vikhr anti-tank missiles with a maximum range of some 8 km. The laser guidance is reported to be virtually jam-proof and the system features automatic guidance to target, enabling evasive action immediately after missile launch. The fire control system automatically shares all target information among the four Black Sharks of a typical flight in real time, allowing one helicopter to engage a target spotted by another, and the system can also input target information from ground-based forward scouts with personnel-carried target designation gear. The integrated 30 mm cannon is semi-rigidly fixed on the helicopter's side, movable only slightly in elevation and azimuth. The aircraft's agility allows the weapon control system to turn the cannon (and the entire helicopter) to point at the target acquired in the pilot's helmet sight about as fast as the cannon turret on the Apache or the Mi-28 turns.[citation needed] The semi-rigid mounting improves the cannon's accuracy, giving the 30 mm a longer practical range and better hit ratio at medium ranges than with a free-turning turret mount.[citation needed]
[edit] Operational history

From December 2000 until January 2001, the Ka-50 saw its first combat operation, where two Ka-50s fired on enemy positions in Chechnya.[12] Later, it undertook several missions in that war zone, although not as many as the more numerous Mil Mi-24. Because of the lack of combat-ready Ka-52 (which was intended for target detection and coordination of Ka-50 attacks), a modified Ka-29 aerial command post was used, with reconnaissance and targeting equipment installed. Ka-50s have shown excellent manoeuvrability in mountain environments.

India issued a request for proposal for 22 attack helicopters for the Indian Air Force in May 2008.[13] The Kamov Ka-50 along with Mil's Mi-28 and Eurocopter's Tiger were the front-runners for this order as of October 2008.[14]

Jordan is negotiating for the purchase of Ka-52 helicopters in 2010.[citation needed]
[edit] Operators

Russia

* Russian Air Force operates 15 Ka-50s[1] and 10 Ka-52s[2] as of late 2008.[15]

[edit] Specifications
Kamov Ka-50 Hokum graphic.gif
Kamov Ka-52 on display

Data for Ka-50, differences for Ka-52 noted.

Data from Ka-50 page,[16] Ka-52 page,[10] Aerospaceweb[17]

General characteristics

* Crew: One (for Ka-52: two)
* Length: 13.50 m (44 ft 3 in)
* Rotor diameter: 2x 14.50 m (2x 47 ft 7 in)
* Height: 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in)
* Disc area: 330.3 m² (3,555 ft²)
* Empty weight: 7,800 kg (17,200 lb)
* Loaded weight: 9,800 kg (21,600 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 10,800 kg (23,810 lb)
* Powerplant: 2× Klimov TV3-117VK turboshafts, 1,660 kW (2,226 shp) each
* For Ka-52:
o Loaded weight: 10,400 kg (22,930 lb)

Performance

* Maximum speed: 390 km/h (204 knots, 242 mph) in dive
* Cruise speed: 270 km/h (146 knots, 168 mph)
* Range: 1,160 km (720 miles)
* Combat radius: 460 km (286 miles)
* Service ceiling: 5,500 m (18,000 ft)
* Rate of climb: 16 m/s (52.5 ft/s)
* Disc loading: 30 kg/m² (6 lb/ft²)
* Power/mass: 0.33 kW/kg (0.20 hp/lb)

Armament

* 1x mobile semi-rigid 30 mm Shipunov 2A42 cannon (240 rounds, dual feeding AP or HE-Frag)
* A variety of payloads on the four under-wing hardpoints, including 23 mm UPK-23-250 gun pods (240 rounds each), APU-6 9K121 Vikhr anti-tank missile racks, Vympel R-73 (NATO: AA-11 Archer) air-to-air missiles, 80 mm S-8 rocket and 122 mm S-13 rocket pods, Kh-25 semi-active laser guided tactical air-to-ground missiles, presumably S-25/S-25L high caliber rockets, 4x 250 kg (550 lb) bombs or 2x 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs, 500 L (130 US gal) external fuel tanks. Reportedly, twin Igla light air-to-air missile launchers under each wingtip countermeasure pod (total 4 missiles). Maximum total payload 2,000 kg.
* Two pods on the wingtips with flare and chaff countermeasure dispensers, 64 cartridges each (total 128).