Special requirements have always been imposed on carrier-based helicopters. They are operated in difficult conditions: humidity, sea s alt, temperature changes and winds have a destructive effect on power structures and units, power plant and on-board electrics. Design Bureau. Kamov in our country has accumulated rich experience in creating machines of this class, which served the fleet for several decades. The latest model of the latest generation carrier-based helicopter Ka-52K Katran is currently entering service with the Russian Navy. Not much is known about him, but information published in open sources testifies to his amazing characteristics. Still, he is the "sibling" of the "Alligator", not without reason considered the best combat helicopter in the world.
"Alligator" and "Katran"
What is this machine? As it is clear from the name, the Ka-52K helicopter is a modification of the Ka-52 "Alligator" adapted to sea conditions and the requirements of the Navy. In terms of overall appearance, characteristics and armament, there are not so many differences between these two machines, but they do exist. Both of them are designed to strike atsurface targets, but can also solve the tasks of combat countermeasures against air threats. As already noted, the special operating conditions of mechanisms and assemblies, as well as the bearing elements of the fuselage of aircraft intended for sea-based deployment, must have an appropriate design, providing for anti-corrosion coatings of all structural elements, special sealing means and adapted microclimate conditions in the pilot's cabin. The Ka-52K has all this, but other than that…
Screw
If we compare an ordinary ground airfield and the deck of an aircraft carrier, and in particular the helipad of a cruiser or other surface ship, the difference in the space allocated for basing equipment is obvious. The less space it takes up, the more units it can fit, and the easier it is to maintain it by driving it into a hangar. First of all, the main rotor is important, which can interfere with the passage through the openings of special elevators that lower the helicopter below the deck, but also the wing, which plays an important role in the aerodynamics of modern helicopters. The idea to compactly fold the blades is not new; it has been used in many samples, both domestic (Ka-26) and foreign. Ka-52K "Katran" is equipped with a mechanism that allows you to perform this operation very quickly, in less than a minute, as well as reduce the dimensions specified by the consoles of the planes. This option was initially dictated by the possibility of using machines of this type on Mistral-class helicopter carriers, the acquisition of which for political reasons did not take place. However, the need for deckhelicopters remains relevant, especially since similar ships are planned to be built in Russia. Thus, the additional letter index "K" means "ship".
Avionics
The Ka-52K "Katran" carrier-based helicopter owes its amazing combat qualities not only to the engineers of the Kamov Design Bureau, but to a large extent to the specialists of KRET (Radioelectronic Technologies Concern), who developed unique avionics for it. The upgraded airborne radar can operate in the centimeter frequency range, providing an increased target location range (up to two hundred kilometers, twice the usual radius). This machine is capable of performing combat sorties in almost zero visibility conditions and in any weather. The Okhotnik weapon control and image recognition system, built on the laser-beam principle, performs target designation and guidance of missiles at the command of the crew and based on information from external sources. Another complex, "Crossbow", eliminates the effects of radio interference. All onboard equipment of the Ka-52K is made in Russia and has no analogues in the world.
Armaments
The firepower of this machine is amazing, it more closely matches the capabilities of a front-line attack aircraft than the usual image of a deck helicopter, traditionally solving the tasks of detecting enemy submarines, reconnaissance and rescuing crews in distress. This "flying tank" (rather a destroyer) Ka-52K is equipped with the Vitebsk airborne defense system, which includes a control system for a 30-mm rapid-firecannon and missile guidance stations located under the planes, namely:
- air-to-ground missiles;
- multi-purpose SD "Whirlwind";
- “Igla” rockets (“air to air”).
This is enough to provide effective support to the advancing airborne units, suppressing pockets of resistance and hitting enemy armored vehicles of all classes.
But that's not all.
Anti-ship helicopter
The Ka-52K has a quality that no other helicopter in the world has. It can be equipped with avionics, which allows launching and guiding the latest anti-ship missiles of the Kh-31 or Kh-35 type, capable of launching a large sea target to the bottom. Previously, only tactical aviation systems based on MiG-29K and Su-30 front-line attack aircraft could carry such weapons. A helicopter that can attack an enemy cruiser or even an aircraft carrier is a new word in the tactics of hypothetical naval battles. This property is all the more important because of the low visibility of rotorcraft and their ability to hover in place, misleading Doppler radars that can only "see" moving objects.
Features
Due to the limited information on some parameters of the flight capabilities of the Ka-52K, the characteristics of the "Katran" can be assessed by its "closest relatives", the Ka-50 "Black Shark" and the Ka-52 "Alligator". There are reasons to believe that they are no worse, and quite likely, even surpass them, although perhaps only slightly. So, this naval helicopter has dimensions of approximately 14 (length) x 5 (height) x 7.3 (wing span) meters with a main propeller diameter of 14.5 meters. Cruising speed - 260 km / h, maximum - 300 km / h. Operational radius - 460 km, take-off weight (maximum) - 10.8 tons. Practical ceiling - 5500, static - 4000. The power plant consists of two gas turbine engines VK-2500.
Prospects
According to Sergey Mikheev, General Designer of OJSC Kamov, the company signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense for the supply of 146 Ka-52K units by 2020. Photos of the first "folding" machines that began to enter the fleet were published in the press. 32 of them were intended for Russian Mistrals, and it is possible that after their acquisition by Egypt, naval modification helicopters will be delivered to this country, however, in an export version, with somewhat reduced capabilities. At least in the fall of 2015, a contract for fifty cars was signed by representatives of the ARE and the Russian Federation. In addition, the French side is also showing interest in the Russian helicopter, although in the light of recent aggravations in the international situation, it is difficult to predict the successful development of military-technical cooperation with countries that are part of the NATO bloc.
