LYUBERTSY, Moscow Region. Oct 8 (Interfax-AVN) - The Kamov company has completed operational development of the KA-50 Black Shark helicopter (NATO designation Hokum) taking into account drawbacks exposed during the helicopter's operation in Chechnya, Kamov President and Constructor General Sergei Mikheyev said on Tuesday.
"Taking into account experimental operation of the KA-50 helicopter in Chechnya, we have completed operational development of the Black Shark's design and equipment," Mikheyev told Interfax-Military News Agency.
KA-50 helicopters do not operate in the North Caucasus any longer. They accomplished their mission and are currently engaged in combat training at their stationing areas, Mikheyev said.
"We forfend the KA-50 helicopter. Even though it was commissioned back in 1995, limited funding allowed the Defense Ministry to procure only a few items. If the army aviation had at least 60 to 80 KA-50 helicopters, the Black Shark would surely be present permanently in the North Caucasus," the president said.
Combat application of the helicopter fully confirmed the correctness of its design concept. Military pilots say that the Black Shark is an efficient means of attack capable of destroying the enemy's armored vehicles, low-speed aerial targets and manpower on the battlefield.
"The combat application concept of helicopters of the previous generation boils down to ambush actions and skip-jumping - they deliver a strike on the enemy and then hide behind a forest or terrain compartment. The KA-50 was designed to move ahead of attacking battle arrays, not behind them. That is why it is maneuverable and fitted with powerful anti-tank and other precision-guided armament capable of suppressing air defense assets and manpower on the battlefield efficiently," Mikheyev said.
The coaxial scheme with two main rotors provides the KA-50 with the highest rate of climb and static ceiling, which is very important for the helicopter's application in the mountains. The aircraft is capable of performing combat maneuvers in the minimal airspace volume and within the shortest period of time in order to take a profitable attack position.
The helicopter can have various configurations of armament. It can be armed with the 30-mm 2A42 mobile rapid-fire gun, anti- tank guided missiles with an application range of up to 8km, air- to-air missiles of the Igla-B type and bombs of various caliber. The total weight of target killers suspended under wings amounts to 2.3t.
"We view the KA-50 as an attack asset that would constantly attack, search for, detect the enemy and destroy it. For this purpose, the crew must have counteraction armament and reliable protection. We must guarantee that the pilot stays alive," Mikheyev said.