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I’m sure many of you have heard about new Ka-52K, the Naval version which is for Russian military. However, you may be very unfamiliar with the fact that South Korea considered to Operate a Ka-52 Alligator, which Kamov even had own unique modified version, named same as Ka-52K. Let me introduce you to the Korean version of Ka-52K for War Thunder.
History
Spoiler
On April 19, 2000, South Korea officially publicly posted an internet requirement for a request for an offer for the purchase and licensing production of 36 attack helicopters, named as AH-X Program. Based on the information provided, the ROKAF planned to introduce the first next generation helicopters as early as 2004.
At the same time, Korea not only spent $1.8 billion but also invested most of this funding in the development of the national military industrial complex, hoping to eventually gain technological independence in the development and production of modern aircraft. Thus, two bids were announced simultaneously, one for direct introduction at the of the Defense Ministry’s Procurement Headquarters (DPA, 국방부 조달본부 ; now DAPA ; 방위사업청) , and the second for licensing production at the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
Kamov and “Rosvooruzhenie”, which is Russian intermediary company, have decided to bid and have begun preparing for the bid. The bidding process for the helicopter business to the Turkish air force has generated reasonable optimism about the competitiveness of the Ka-52 in terms of flight performance and armed performance.
Kamov decided to collaborate with LG, which introduced Ka-32 to Korea. They competed against Boeing’s AH-64A Apache, AH-1Z, and several European attack helicopters. These time was during the end of the Cold War, so military export companies were very competitive to the program - especially Russian companies like “Promexport”, which is also Russian intermediary company proposed the Mi-28N in cooperation with Samsung.
Due to concerns over a lack of competitiveness against Western companies and Efficiency, Russian government eventually merged the two companies into “Rosoboronexport”, the Russian-made candidate helicopter was merged into the Ka-52K.
As the program began, the Korean Army was dissatisfied with Boeing’s proposal of AH-64A, not AH-64D, with a very high price, and the AH-1Z was also lacking compared to its competitors, so Koreans naturally drew attention to the Ka-52K.
Meanwhile, Meanwhile, Russian company Kronstadt’s control and navigation system, Izmeritel’s monitoring system, and Tula’s Vikhir missile were equipped.
Also, as the request of Korea, Kamov was certified as the U.S. standard instead of the Russian standard GOST, as per Korea’s request. In addition, it was decided to change the 2A42 with a French-made 20mm GIAT, which was previously proposed for the Turkish export. In addition, ECM and onboard defense system agreed to install the equipment of BAE Systems, and the non-guided rocket to equip the 70mm rocket of FZ. For helmets, it was equipped with a French-made TopOwl system.
In addition, Korea requested the installation of NT-Dandy Missile (later called Spike-ER), which is made by Israel. IAI and Rafael responded positively to this request such as making Korean Ka-52K presentation to Korean bureaucrats, since they cooperated with Kamov during the Turkish business, but the offer suffered from expensive system integration prices and confidentiality issues.
But still, the project went on and Ka-52’s first prototype - B-80Sh2, number ‘061’ was being converted to a Ka-52K. In 2001, the Korean Committee and Korean military pilots visited companies in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Tula participating in the Ka-52K project and boarded the test flight. They demonstrated the Vikhir missile, non-guided rocket, Geo-ONV-1 night visions, and gun performance. The Korean military pilots gave a very good evaluation of the alligator’s maneuverability.
Kamov was enthusiastically involved in the project, such as making brochures, opening booths at Seoul Air Show, and discussing joint production with Korean companies such as KAI and Korean Air.
However, due to various confusion within Korea, the AH-X project will be postponed indefinitely in 2006 and the budget changed to the introduction of MLRS and KMH-KHP project, which later made a KUH-1 ‘Surion’, a Korean helicopter. Kamov waited until 2007 for the project to continue, but then they abandoned it and the helicopter equipped with Ataka missiles in 2008, removed Western equipment, and be modified to meet Russian requirements. 5 years later, in 2011, the AH-X project has restarted, and 2013, Korean Army has chosen AH-64E Apache Guardian for their new attack heilcopters.
Specifications
Spoiler
Length:
13,500mm
Height:
4,900mm
Width:
7,340mm
Max. Take-off Weight
10,400 Kg
Empty Weight:
7,800 Kg
Driving Max. Speed:
350km/hr
Level Flight Max. Speed:
310km/hr
Engine Model:
TW3-117VMA
Engine Capacity:
2 x 2,200 HP
Service Celling:
5,500m
Rate of climb:
60m/s
Crew:
2
Mission Equipment Package:
Armament System:
NT-D (Spike-ER) and 20mm GIAT would be optional.
More Pictures
Spoiler
South Korean Army Pilots testing the Ka-52K.
Ka-52K refueling at the airstrip.
Ka-52K in flight.
GIAT 20mm foldable turret blueprints.
Sources
