The history of the Black Shark (Part1)

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin) - In late 2006, wire services said the Arsenyev-based Progress Central Specialized Design Bureau in Russia's Maritime Territory had resumed tests of the famous Kamov Ka-50 Hokum (Black Shark) helicopter gunship.

Production of this unique helicopter, which had stopped in the mid-1990s, has now resumed completely, a Progress spokesman told RIA Novosti. "This made it possible to involve about 3,000 workers in this state contract. We plan to build four Ka-50s for the Russian Armed Forces in 2007," he said.

In mid-2006, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the State Armaments Program called for buying 12 Ka-50 helicopters in addition to the three operational Ka-50s by 2015.

Seven unique Ka-50 helicopters on service with the Russian Armed Forces by late 2007. Will this be enough? What are the Black Shark's main specifications? Why is the Russian Army staking on the Mil Mi-28 Havoc, the revamped Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunship, the Mi-17 Hip assault helicopter and their modified versions? And why does it buy so few Kamov helicopters, including the Ka-50, the Ka-52 Alligator and the Ka-60 Kasatka (Killer Whale)? Let's try to answer these inter-linked questions.

First of all, the Ka-50 should not be considered "unlucky."

In 1984, the Ka-50, formerly called the V-80, won a secret tender organized by the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, the Soviet Government and Defense Ministry, which wanted a new attack helicopter to replace the obsolete Mi-24 Hind (Crocodile), which had fought well in the 1979-1989 Afghan War.

The tender's organizers wanted the Ka-50 to outperform the Mi-24. The Ka-50 packed a more devastating punch than the Mi-24, and was capable of flying reconnaissance and combat missions round the clock and in any weather. It could destroy tanks and armored vehicles, as well as enemy fortifications. Moreover, the Ka-50 could withstand intense enemy fire and knock down aerial targets.

The pilot sits inside an all-armored cockpit, which cannot be pierced by the 12.7-mm Degtyaryov-Shpagin heavy machine-gun and the 20-mm M-61 Vulcan six-barreled Gatling-style gun at 100 meters. For comparison, the AH-64A Apache, the best foreign attack helicopter to date, is fitted with M-61Vulcan guns and an armored seat for pilot protection.

The Ka-50 became the first helicopter in history to receive the K-37-800 ejection seat, developed by the Zvezda research and production association (NPO), which supplies ejection seats to Sukhoi, Mikoyan-Gurevich and Tupolev aircraft corporations. Consequently, the Ka-50 pilot can eject to safety the way a fighter pilot does.

Moreover, the Ka-50's avionics ensure automatic flight and landing in case the pilot blacks out.

Kamov Company General Designer Sergei Mikheyev, who supervised the Ka-50 project, said the new helicopter was to have the most advanced scientific and technological achievements. According to him, the Ka-50 was designed to protect the pilot to the maximum possible extent, so that he could openly confront enemy tanks.

The Ka-50 was therefore fitted with a 2A42 30-mm gun, which is 100-200% heavier than an aircraft cannon or that of the AH-64 Apache helicopter, but its range and armor penetrating capacity exceeds their parameters several times over.

The helicopter's dirt, dust and water-resistant cannon is a big advantage in low-altitude combat missions.

In addition to this rapid-fire gun, the Ka-50 has the unique custom-made Vikhr (Vortex) anti-tank guided missiles, which were developed at the Tula-based Instrument Design Bureau headed by Arkady Shipunov, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

These automatic, supersonic and laser-guided missiles pierce thick armor (up to 0.9 meter) and cannot be diverted by enemy ECM (Electronic Counter-measures) systems. They can hit tanks, mechanized infantry combat vehicles, self-propelled guns, medium-range and shorter-range missile launchers, as well as aerial targets.

The Ka-50's computer can receive target acquisition data from other helicopters, including the Ka-52, and AWACS-type early warning planes, as well as ground reconnaissance systems and scouts.

The pilot then flashes such data on computer screens, and the computer will tell him about high-priority or the most dangerous targets within firing range. All the pilot has to do is activate the automatic sighting system to aim his guided missiles and push several buttons. All targets will be destroyed at a range of up to 10 km.

Apart from the 12 Vikhr guided missiles, the Ka-50 has 80 B-8V20A rocket projectiles, which also have great capabilities.

The Ka-50, one of the best attack helicopters, has "starred" in the popular action movie "Black Shark." It can execute a 180-degree banked turn at full speed, fire a burst at the enemy and continue flying along a preset route. Only co-axial helicopters can perform such breath-taking stunts.

The helicopter's two co-axial three-blade rotors regulate lift and enable it to move in the required direction. However, this unusual layout has evidently done the Ka-50 a bad service because no country has so far used co-axial helicopters in combat. Russian generals are therefore in no hurry to adopt it.

However, the Russian Navy has been operating Ka-25 Hormone and Ka-27 Helix co-axial helicopters and their modified versions for a long time now. They are also popular with the Indian Navy.

The Russian Army does not favor co-axial helicopters because they are crewed by just one pilot, who also acts as navigator and gun-layer with the help of an onboard computer.

Some generals are concerned about this because they believe any helicopter should have at least two pilots, who can replace each other in an emergency.

The Ka-50's opponents did their best to torpedo this project when Russia faced a budgetary crisis in the early 1990s and defense appropriations were slashed. The very existence of Russia's Armed Forces was jeopardized at that time.

However, project managers did not give up and tried hard to save their brainchild.

(the continuation of this article will be posted soon)

Izvor:http://en.rian.ru/

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The history of the Black Shark (Part 2)

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin) - The key to rescuing the drowning is in the hands of the drowning themselves. The Kamov design bureau followed this catchphrase from a famous Russian comedy by Ilf and Petrov both literally and figuratively. They started marketing the Black Shark helicopter abroad.

Will foreigners buy it or not? Will they get a foreign trade permit? Answers to these questions did not matter. What mattered was that foreigners would know about the Black Shark; it would attract the attention of the press, which, in turn would promote its adoption by the army, and training of pilots; the all-weather assault (or fire support) helicopter would help troops to win in battle. This was the idea of the Kamov bureau.

For the first time, the public saw the declassified Ka-50 Black Shark helicopter (which carries NATO codename Hokum A) in February 1991 during tactical exercises in Machulishchi, Belarus; in August of the same year, it took part in the air show in Zhukovsky, near Moscow. In September 1992, the Black Shark was displayed at the Farnborough Air Show near London, where it created a real stir. Strange as it may seem, the credit for this does not go to the Kamov designers only.

The UK Embassy delayed a visa to the Black Shark's general designer Sergei Mikheyev, and he had to give instructions on its unloading from an An-124 Ruslan cargo aircraft by phone. When he finally made it to London, it transpired that technical support experts and test pilots had no visas. Colleagues from the Tupolev design bureau helped Mikheyev unpack the helicopter, and assembly it for the exhibition. But he had no right to fly it, and had to put a notice on the windscreen: "Sorry, we cannot fly because..."

CNN reporters saw the notice, and staged a huge row. Everyone was talking about "insidious rivals." The Brits immediately provided the visas, but the pilots arrived in Farnborough when the air show was about to close.

This is how Sergei Mikheyev and his team started learning the seamy side of the world arms market. It appeared that some arm producers would stop at nothing to prevent their rivals from scoring success. Sometimes, these attempts border on a joke. I was involved in one of these myself.

At the time, I was working for a newspaper which issued the first joint Russian-American publication entitled "We." Materials were prepared in Moscow and Washington, D.C., and printed in the United States. Color print was not used for weeklies in Russia in the early 1990s. The KA-50 general designer and I decided to write an article about two helicopters - the Russian Kamov vs. the American Apache. We compared the characteristics mentioned in ad booklets. The Shark surpassed the An-64 Apache in cruise speed and some other indicators. The Apache was better fitted our for night operations. This was an unbiased comparison.

We were very surprised to see the proofs which arrived from Washington. All characteristics of our Ka-50 were downgraded compared to the Apache. They quoted the Shark's cruise speed with Apache' attack speed, which is bound to be higher than in normal flight. We showed these official documents to the Russian editor. He corrected everything in our presence and sent the proofs back to the U.S. But the newspaper was published with the U.S.-preferred figures.

Mikheyev was very upset, all the more so since on August 25, 1995 the Russian President issued a decree on the Black Shark's adoption by the Russian Armed Forces. He took the American demarche as an insult of his brainchild and even the Russian Armed Forces as a whole.

Mikheyev also felt bad because despite the long-awaited decree no money was allocated from the federal budget for the Ka-50's large-scale manufacture. Even the start of the war against the Chechen terrorists and separatists did not change the situation. This is despite the fact that the Black Shark would have been of great help both in the mountains and in conditions of limited space and poor visibility. But the scant defense budget was spent on other things. Even the Crocodiles - Mi-24 choppers - were not ready for the war, to say nothing of new helicopters. The pilots did not have the required equipment, and when they were downed, not all of them could be saved in time for lack of operating search indicators.

In 1998, the Kamov design bureau took part in Ankara's tender for the supply of attack helicopters to Turkey. One of the terms was to launch production of helicopters at the republic's aircraft-building plants. The Black Shark joined the competition. The Kamov designers even made a special helicopter code-named Erdogan (Falcon) for the Turkish army. On Ankara's recommendations, Israeli avionics was used in its electronic fittings. As distinct from the Shark, it was a two-seat helicopter, with one pilot sitting behind the other, as in a training fighter. The Ka-50 helicopter was equipped with a thermal imager, and was fit for day and night operations.

But once the backbone of the U.S. Army attack helicopter AH-1Z King Cobra emerged on the horizon together with Bell, its manufacturer, and their lobby groups from the Capitol, and the Department of State. The Kamov helicopter could not compete in this weight category.

Although the King Cobra won the tender, the Turks refused to buy it. The experience amassed by Mikheyev in the development of the Erdogan allowed him and his colleagues to build a new version of the combat Kamov - Ka-52, which was later codenamed Alligator (V-80Sh2). It is also a two-seater, but the pilots sit side by side. While one of them is at the wheel, the other selects targets for attack. This is why this version is called attack-and-reconnaissance. These helicopters are equipped with fluid crystal color displays and helmet-mounted indication of readings. Ka-52 pilots have almost completely matched their foreign colleagues.

Specialists have even suggested tactics for using Ka-50 and Ka-52 in action - a group of five to seven helicopters, where two Alligators will conduct reconnaissance, select targets, and function as a flying command center. In the meantime, Sharks will destroy the located enemy armor, control points, or terrorists, their ammunition depots, and training camps. They will become real terminators.

The idea is wonderful but unrealistic. We have very few Sharks, and our commanders have not yet mastered the conduct of a controlled combined arms operation involving space, air, and ground troops. On the one hand, we have no technical or financial means for that, and on the other, there is no urgent need for such training. Similar operations are taking place in the Middle East rather than Russia.

But one Black Shark pilot was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for taking part in the anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya in 2001. Ka-50 and Ka-52 designers received Russia's State Award, while the Kamov bureau general designer Sergei Mikheyev was honored with a Hero's Gold Star.

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Kamov Ka-50 in Chechnya

Philadelphia, Mar. 14, 2001 -- Following the initial deployment to Chechnya last year, the Russian Army’s Ka-50 "Black Shark" attack helicopters for the first time have fired live ammo against an actual enemy on January 6, 2001 in Chechnya.

A small force of coaxial Kamov Ka-50 attack helicopters were reported to be based at Grozny’s "Northern" airport when they were deployed to the province. The actual location of their base is classified and is being constantly changed. When a small group of Russian journalists were allowed to visit the secret helicopter base, they were flown in blindfolded. The helicopter pilots they interviewed hid their faces behind the sun visors of their flight helmets.

Kamov Ka-50 attack helicopters operate in conjunction with Mi-24 "Krokodil" assault helicopters and a new version of the Ka-30 naval anti-ship helicopter equipped with an advanced air-to-surface radar system "Oka." The Ka-50 helicopters are armed primarily with up to 80 S-8 80-mm unguided rockets and 12 "Vikhr-M" (AT-12) laser-guided air-to-surface anti-tank missiles (ATGMs). The "Black Sharks" are also equipped with the advanced "Shkval" Automatic Sighting System ensuring target detection and identification, precise guidance of the "Vikhr-M" ATGMs and use of the 30-mm 2A42 cannon, identical to the one carried by the BMP-2 armored personnel carrier.

The Ka-50 can carry up to 2,000 kg of weapons on four moving underwing pylons in addition to the internal high-speed cannon. The supersonic "Vikhr-M" missile in conjunction with the "Shkval" sighting system allows the Ka-50 to engage camouflaged reinforced targets from up to 10 km away: well outside the reach of any type of air-to-surface missile available to the Chechen rebels.

The "Vikhr-M" missile can penetrate of up to 900 mm of explosive reactive armor from the maximum launch distance of 10 km, which makes it the most deadly anti-tank missile in service around the world. This remarkable missile can also engage aircraft flying at speeds of up to 800 km/h. Even though the Ka-50 is capable of firing dedicated air-to-air missiles, the air-to-air capability of the "Vikhr-M" allows to maximize the efficiency of the available maximum 2,000-kg weapons load.

On January 9, 2001, a Ka-50 and an Mi-24 engaged a well-camouflaged rebel ammo storage facility not far from the town of Komsomolskoye. Despite the very limited room for maneuvering due to nearby mountains, the Ka-50 was able to dive on the target at a very steep angle and fire a salvo of S-8 rockets, completely destroying the ammunition dump. The Mi-24 destroyed a nearby observation tower also with unguided rockets.

A flight of Ka-50s and support helicopters detected a camouflaged rebel base to the south of Centoroy on February 6. The base was built around two reinforced buildings and appeared to be heavily defended. A decision was made engage the target with guided missiles. Two "Vikhr-M" laser-guided missiles were launched from a distance of three kilometers, completely destroying the two reinforced structures. The entire base was demolished by the attacking helicopters in a single pass.

On February 14 a helicopter strike group consisting of several Ka-50s and support helicopters was on a "free hunt" mission in the area of Duba-Yurt and Khatuni. In low-visibility conditions the helicopters engaged and completely destroyed eight targets using guided and unguided munitions, as well as the automatic sighting system.

The Ka-50 "Black Shark" earned a good reputation not only among its pilots, but also among the Mi-24 pilots, who were amazed by the Ka-50’s agility. The "Shkval" sighting system permits the Ka-50 to execute intensive air-defense-evasion maneuvers following the launch of missiles, without losing the target lock. Frequently, pilots of the escorting Mi-24 assault helicopters lost the sight of the Ka-50s and were searching for them in the wrong part of the sky.

So far too few Ka-50s are deployed in Chechnya to have any significant impact on the situation in the province. While the combat role of the Ka-50 in Chechnya is still very low, the psychological impact of these fast black helicopters on the morale of the remaining Chechen rebels is immense. The rebels got used to the heavily armed and armored Mi-24s, with their undisputed strengths but also significant drawbacks. The Ka-50 provides the Russian army aviation with an ability to engage heavily-defended enemy positions from a safe distance and with high precision.

Successful deployment of Ka-50s in Chechnya is a significant victory for the Kamov Design Bureau. The "Black Shark" now has at least one undisputed advantage over its archrival for the domestic attack helicopter market – the Mil Mi-28. Achievements of the Ka-50 in Chechnya will also improve Kamov’s chances on the international arena as well. Already, South Korea expressed interest in purchasing a number of Ka-50s for its armed forces. Other potential customers include China and India. Greece and Sweden are considering purchasing the Ka-50 as well.

Venik
March 14, 2001

http://www.aeronautics.ru/news/news001/news030.htm