The Ka-50 black shark was designed in the 1970’s by the Kamov design bureau and was envisioned to be an all-weather, night/day capable, anti-armor helicopter, to replace that of the Mi-24 hind. While the hind was effective at the anti-tank role, it never just, completely excelled at its job, because of its size and mechanical limitations.
In the year of 1982 the first Ka-50 took flight and was most notable because of its coaxial rotor system, meaning it had no need for a tail rotor, as well as its one of a kind ejection system, which would eject the rotor-blades of the helicopter away from the aircraft and then use the det-cord in the cockpits top glass, then eject the pilot from the helicopter. The feature is still notable even today as being one of a kind, and it was facilitated because of the danger of high-speed, low-altitude, and high-risk environment of close combat operations.
The advanced avionics, IR sensors, advanced guidance computer, and even sporting a helmet mounted system “shkval” to slave the optical and gun systems (something I’d still like to see in game, Gaijin), which all greatly increased its effectiveness in combat, despite the pilot also taking on the weapons officer role. While the pilot was required to be specialized and trained to operate the rotorcraft, it only took one to fly and operate, meaning it fell in line with the Soviet doctrine of being as effective, yet “replaceable” as possible.
Another thing I’d like to talk about was the Trial of the Ka-50 when it went head to head with Mil design bureau’s design, the Mi-28. While the Ka-50 shattered the Soviet standard with its maneuverability and speed, as well as its overall survivability and combat systems, while the Mi-28 was on standard with what the Soviets asked for. However when it came to “combat expectancy” with taking out targets, it fell short, when given a total of flying low, and finding 25 hidden targets to hit, it only succeeded at hitting 1 of the 25, of the Mi-28’s total number of 24 of 25 targets hit, however its saving grace was the fact that it met the major requirement, being a single seat attack helicopter (and also its automated flight and weaponry systems). Later the specifications changed after the first production of Ka-50’s were filled, that to now be a two seat attack helicopter, which the Mi-28 swiftly filled, that was until the Ka-52 was able to be produced and tested. (but that is for another post)
After its extensive evaluation by the Soviets it entered service in the 1990’s, while never being produced in large numbers in favor of the two seater variant, the Ka-52 because of its increased combat effectiveness filling its role. The rotorcraft first saw. Combat in the theatre of the Russian civil war, or Chechen war, saw its combat effectiveness be above the expectations, excelling in its close air support role, as well as its anti-tank capabilities.
Despite its shortcomings and age, it’s a very resilient system, being extremely innovative and flexible, and still remains to this day one of the only Coaxial rotor attack helicopters to be in service. While never seeing widespread deployment, its advancements paved the way for the future of helicopter operations and development.
(I am aware there is a lot of R&D and trial history missing, if some people want it, I will add it later)
Videotape in Chenya:
Survival equipment
A diagram showing the location of the President-S MAW system
Flares/Chaff:
- UV-26 flare dispenser (can be slaved to MAWS)
MAWS:
- L-370-2 Vitebsk (AKA: “President-S”)
LWS:
- SPO-29 (AKA: “Pastel”)
RWR:
- SPO-15
Etc.:
-
K-37-800 ejection seat
-
Titanium armored cockpit
-
Bullet resistant glass
-
Self-sealing fuel tanks
-
Armored engines
Weaponry
Pylons:
- 4 total, two on each side
Turret:
- Shipunov 30mm 2A42 automatic cannon (Mounted starboard side)
Mountable guns:
- Mountable 23mm guns (Gryazev Shipunov GSh-23L (Hardpoint mounted))
Bombs:
-
OFAB-250 (4 total (one per pylon))
-
FAB-500 (2 total (inner pylon only))
Munitions dispenser:
- KMGU munition dispenser (4 total (one per pylon))
Rockets:
- S-8KO (4 total pods (one per pylon) with 20 per pod)
Air-to-Air:
- 9K38 Igla (2 pods (outer pylons only) 2 missiles per pod)
Air-to-Ground:
- 9K127 Vikhr (2 pods (outer pylons only) 6 missiles per pod)
Ext. Fuel (drop tanks):
- 500 Liter tanks (2 tanks (inner pylon only))
Computing systems:
Turret:
- CCIP (automated calculation and trajectory control) & EEGS
Cannons:
- CCIP
Bombs:
- CCIP
Rockets:
- CCIP
General Characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 16 m (52 ft 6 in)
Height: 4.93 m (16 ft 2 in)
Empty weight: 7,700 kg (16,976 lb)
Gross weight: 9,800 kg (21,605 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 10,800 kg (23,810 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Klimov VK-2500 engines, 1,800 kW (2,400 shp) each
Main rotor diameter: 2 × 14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)
Main rotor area: 330.3 m2 (3,555 sq ft) contra-rotating 3-bladed main rotors
Sources of Info
Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" helicopter - development history, photos, technical data
Kamov Ka-50 Black Shark (Hokum) Dedicated Single-Seat Attack Helicopter
Generally speaking It’s really cool rotorcraft, I find it and its development really interesting, and I hope you do too. Hope you enjoyed reading this informational post on the Ka-50 helicopter as much as I enjoyed making it. Thank you for reading!
