Kamov Ka-50 Hokum

Attack helicopter



Production of the Kamov Ka-50 Hokum attack helicopter is postponed with only some helicopters built

Entered service -
Crew 1 men
Dimensions and weight
Length 16 m
Main rotor diameter 14.5 m
Height 4.93 m
Weight (empty) 7.8 t
Weight (maximum take off) 10.8 t
Engines and performance
Engines 2 x Klimov TV3-117VK turboshafts
Engine power 2 x 2 193 hp
Maximum speed 300 km/h
Service ceiling 5.5 km
Range 540 km
Endurance 1 hour 40 minutes
Armament
Cannon 1 x 30-mm cannon
Missiles 16 x 9M120 Vikhr (AT-9 'Spiral') and Vikhr-M (AT-16) anti-tank missiles
Other ungided rockets in place of the AT missiles


The Ka-50 Chernaya Akula (black shark, NATO designation Hokum) was planned as a rival to the Mi-28 Havoc in a competition to provide the Soviet armed forces with a new battlefield attack helicopter. Kamov opted for a single-crew layout to save weight for more amour, more powerful armament, and a greater number of advanced sensors. The first of three V-80 prototypes made its maiden flight on 17 June 1982. In October 1986 the Ka-50 was selected for production. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia faced military budget cuts. Only about 10 of these helicopters were ever built.

The core of the Ka-50's weapon system is the tube-launched Vikhr anti-tank missile, of which 16 are carried. the Ka-50's cannon has variable rates of fire and selective feed from two ammunition boxes. Survivability is enhanced by features including infra-red suppression of the hot exhaust gases, layered cockpit amour and chaff/flare dispensers in wing tip pods. The pilot can escape the aircraft via a K-37 ejection seat, after the rotor blades have been explosively separated.

Later revision of the requirement to emphasize night combat capability led to a reassessment of the Ka-50 Hocum, whose production was postponed, in the light of the two-seat Mi-28's apparently greater developability for the task.



Variants



Ka-50N (Nochnoy, or night). The type first flew in 1997 and has a forward-looking infra red (FLIR) turret and mast-mounted radar;

Ka-50Sh (Shar, or sphere). It is another night attack versions, fitted with undernose spherical FLIR turret. The type first flew in 1997;

Ka-50-2 Erdogan export derivative with a two-seat cockpit, fitted with Israeli avionics. It has been offered to China, India and Turkey, but received no production orders;

Ka-52 Alligator (Hokum-B) is a side-by-side two-seat conversion trainer and day/night combat derivative. It also features uprated TV3-117 engines and milimetric-wavelength radar. First flown in production form on 25 June 1997, the type has been ordered for Russian service.