![]() On some, the original Shkval was supplemented by a thermal imaging system, while others saw a complete replacement by the Samshit day-and-night system (also used on Ka-52). Kamov drafted a design in 1993 that included the Shkval-N sighting system with an infrared sensor. As a result, focus shifted to forward looking infrared (FLIR) systems. Due to lack of funding, the system was late and experienced reliability and capability issues. ![]() Initially, Ka-50N was meant to be fitted with the Merkury Low-Light TV (LLTV) system. ![]() Ka-50N "Night Shark" and Ka-50Sh įrom the time the Ka-50 was ordered in 1987, it was known that the limited night-time capability of the original version would have to be upgraded to meet night attack requirements. In 2009, the Russian Air Force received three units built from incomplete airframes dating from the mid-1990s. The production of Ka-50 was recommenced in 2006. The Ka-50 and its modifications have been chosen as the special forces' support helicopter, while the Mil Mi-28 has become the main army's gunship. The first two Ka-50 prototypes had false windows painted on them, which successfully misled the first western reports of the aircraft in the mid-1980s, to the point of some analysts even concluding that its primary mission was as an air superiority aircraft for hunting and killing NATO attack helicopters, an alarming but expected Soviet move by NATO planners following the recent J-CATCH program evaluation. The single-seat configuration was considered undesirable by NATO. This resulted in only a dozen Ka-50s delivered, instead of the planned several hundred to replace the Mil Mi-24. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a severe drop in defense procurement. The president of the Russian Federation authorized the fielding of the Ka-50 with the Russian Army on 28 August 1995. In November 1993, four production helicopters were flown to the Army Aviation Combat Training Centre at Torzhok to begin field trials. The fifth prototype, painted black, played the title role in the movie Чёрная акула (Black Shark), which made the Ka-50 known by its current nickname. The following month, the second production example made its foreign debut at the Farnborough Airshow, where it was displayed with an image of a werewolf on its rudder-gaining the popular nickname "Werewolf". The helicopter was unveiled at the Mosaeroshow '92 at Zhukovskiy in August 1992. The attack helicopter was first described publicly as the "Ka-50" in March 1992 at a symposium in the United Kingdom. įollowing initial flight testing and system tests, the Council ordered the first batch of helicopters in 1990. Before the rocket in the ejection seat deploys, the rotor blades are blown away by explosive charges in the rotor disc and the canopy is jettisoned. Star) K-37-800 ejection seat, which is a rare feature for a helicopter. įor improved pilot survivability the Ka-50 is fitted with a NPP Zvezda (transl. The Ka-50's entire transmission presents a comparatively small target to ground fire. The omission of the tail rotor is a qualitative advantage, because the torque-countering tail rotor can use up to 30% of engine power. Like other Kamov helicopters, it features Kamov's characteristic coaxial contra-rotating rotor system, which removes the need for the entire tail rotor assembly and improves the aircraft's aerobatic qualities-it can perform loops, rolls and "the funnel" ( circle-strafing), where the aircraft maintains a line-of-sight to the target while flying circles of varying altitude and airspeed around it. During operational testing from 1985 to 1986, the workload on the pilot was found to be similar to that of a fighter-bomber pilot, such that the pilot could perform both flying and navigation duties. Development of the helicopter was first reported in the West in 1984, while the first photograph appeared in 1989. Production of the attack helicopter was ordered by the Soviet Council of Ministers on 14 December 1987. The Ka-50 is the production version of the V-80Sh-1 prototype. Kamov also designed another two-seat variant, the Kamov Ka-52 "Alligator" (Russian: Аллигатор, NATO reporting name: Hokum B). It has a rescue ejection system, rare for helicopters.ĭuring the late 1990s, Kamov and Israel Aerospace Industries developed a tandem-seat cockpit version, the Kamov Ka-50-2 "Erdogan" (Russian: Эрдоган, Turkish: Erdoğan), to compete in Turkey's attack helicopter competition. It is used as a heavily armed scout helicopter. It is manufactured by the Progress company in Arsenyev. It was designed in the 1980s and adopted for service in the Russian army in 1995. The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" ( Russian: Чёрная акула, romanized: Chyornaya akula, English: kitefin shark, NATO reporting name: Hokum A) is a Soviet/Russian single-seat attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the Kamov design bureau.
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