CH-47 CHINOOK 3D PICS

The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" Hokum

The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark": Hokum A) is a single-seat Russian attack helicopter with the distinctive CO-AXIAL system of the KAMOV design bureau.

The Ka-50 was designed to be small, fast and agile to improve survivability and lethality. For minimal weight and size (thus maximum speed and agility) it was—uniquely among gunships–to be operated by a single pilot only.

The helicopter has a number of unique characteristics including single seat to increase combat and flight characteristics and reduce operational costs. It was designed for remote operations, and not to need ground maintenance facilities for 2 weeks. The airframe is 35% composite materials with a structural central 1m 2 keel beam of kevlar/ nomex that protects critical systems and ammunition. The fully armored pilot's cabin can withstand 23-mm gunfire, and the cockpit glass 12.7-mm MG gunfire. The Zvezda K-37-800 pilot ejection system functions at any altitude, and enables a successful ejection at low altitude and maximum speed.

The KA-50 features unique maneuverability and operating characteristics due to the contra-rotating co-axial rotors. The coaxial counter-rotating rotor system negates the need for a tail rotor and its drive system. Because of this, this aircraft is unaffected by wind strength and direction, has an unlimited hovering turn rate, and gives a smaller profile and acoustic signature, while allowing a 10-15% greater power margin. The HOKUM is fully aerobatic. It can perform loops, roll, and �the funnel�, where the aircraft will maintain a concentrated point of fire while flying circles of varying altitude, elevation, and airspeed around the target.

BENEFITS OF TWO ROTORS AND REMOVING TAIL ROTOR

Using two rotors means that a smaller rotor with slower-moving rotor tips can be used compared to a single-rotor design. Since the speed of the advancing rotor tip is a primary limitation to the maximum speed of a helicopter, this allows a faster maximum speed than helicopters such as the AH-64. The elimination of the tail rotor is a qualitative advantage because the torque-countering tail rotor can use up to 30% of engine power. Furthermore, the vulnerable boom and rear gearbox are fairly common causes of helicopter losses in combat; the Black Shark's entire transmission presents a comparatively small target to ground fire.

KA 52 ALLIGATOR

Its a modified version of Ka-50 on which the recce and  target designation systems are installed. The modified "Hokum" required a second crew member to operate the optronics/radar recce suite. Kamov decided to use side-by-side seating arrangement, due to the verified improvements in co-operation between the crew members. This twin-seat version of the "Hokum" received a designation of Ka-52.

ka52 cockpit

SPECIFICATION

Country of Origin   Russia

Role                          Antihelicopter and gunship

Similar Aircraft         Hirundo A109, Mangusta A129, AH-64 Apache, AH-1F    Cobra

Blades                       Main rotor: 6 (2 heads, 3 blades each) Tail rotor: None

Rotor diameter         14.5 meters

Wing span                7.34 meters

Length                      rotors turning: 16 meters
fuselage: 15.0 meters

Height                       gear extended: 4.93 meters
gear retracted: 4 meters

Engines                     2x 2,200-shp Klimov TV3-117VK turboshaft

                                  External weapons load: 2,500 kg on 4 under-wing stores points.

Speed                        Maximum (level): 340 km/h (est.)
Cruise: 270-310 km/h
Sideward: 100+ km/h, Rearward: 100+ km/h

Turn Rate                unlimited

Ceiling                      Service: 5,500 meters
Hover (out of ground effect): 4,000 meters
Hover (in ground effect): 5,500 meters

Vertical Climb Rate 10 m/s

Range (km)              545 km (339 miles)

KAVERI ENGINE TO FLY FUTURISTIC UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)’s faltering project to develop an indigenous jet engine has sparked to life again. With the Kaveri engine, born from this project, found short on power for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the ministry of defence (MoD) has nominated the Kaveri to power the hush-hush Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle (USAV), a pilot-less bomber aircraft that the DRDO is developing.

The veil of secrecy surrounding the USAV project was thrown off on December 10, when the defence minister told Parliament that, “(the) Kaveri spin-off engine can be used as a propulsion system for (the) Indian Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle.”

Already drones, or unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), are changing the nature of air power with their ability to strike targets without endangering pilots lives. USAVs are bigger, 8-10 tonne drones, akin to strike fighters in their ability to carry heavy weaponry including bombs, rockets and missiles. Since they are piloted by remote control, they can be built lighter, stealthier, and sent on even the most risky missions.



The Indian USAV project is a lease of life for the Kaveri engine. Although India will import jet engines worth Rs 1,60,000 crore over the next decade (DRDO projections) none of these can be used for the USAV. The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) prohibits its 34 signatories — including every major engine manufacturing country — from selling engines for unmanned systems with ranges of over 300 kilometres.

An Indian jet engine, therefore, must power the USAV and the Kaveri is the only option. Although underpowered for fast-moving fighter aircraft, the DRDO believes the Kaveri is well suited for the USAV, which is lighter, flies slower and manoeuvres less sharply.

Business Standard visited the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), the DRDO laboratory that is developing the Kaveri engine. It reached a key landmark last year, when a prototype Kaveri was flight-tested in Russia at the Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI). The engine’s performance was measured on a “flying test-bed”, a four-engine IL-76 transport aircraft that had one of its original engines replaced with a Kaveri.

During this test the Kaveri did well, generating 49.2 KiloNewtons (KN) of “dry thrust”, marginally less than its target of 51 KN. But there was a serious shortfall in “wet thrust”; the Kaveri generated just 70.4 KN, well short of the targeted 81 KN.

(‘Dry thrust’ refers to the standard output of an engine in routine flight. ‘Wet thrust’ refers to the enhanced output that is generated when the fighter requires maximum power, eg during take-off or in aerial combat. Termed “lighting the afterburner”, this is achieved by pumping fuel into the engine’s exhaust.)

The Kaveri’s dry thrust is deemed adequate for the USAV, which does not require wet thrust since its survival depends on stealth (invisibility to radar) rather than on speed or manoeuvrability. The Kaveri will propel the USAV with dry thrust alone, eliminating the afterburner.

“Since the USAV will weigh less than 10 tonnes, the Kaveri’s 50 KN will suffice. And, with the afterburner removed, we would significantly reduce the weight of the Kaveri,” says a top DRDO scientist.

GTRE has a threefold plan for perfecting the Kaveri for the USAV. First, it will remove the design flaws that were detecting during testing in Russia in 2010-11; then, after ground testing in Bangalore, the Kaveri will undergo a round of confirmatory tests in Russia; finally, it will be fitted on a Tejas fighter for flight tests.

Meanwhile, the Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), another DRDO laboratory, will develop the USAV. Four years from today, the Kaveri — having proved itself on the Tejas — will be mated with the USAV.

“After extensive ground testing at GTRE, the Kaveri will go back to Russia for flight-testing to ascertain that all the problems have been solved. This is essential for airworthiness certification. Finally, we will test the Kaveri in the single-engine Tejas fighter,” says C P Ramnarayanan, director, GTRE.

The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which oversees the development of the Tejas, confirms that it will provide a Tejas prototype for flying with the Kaveri. It has even nominated an aircraft — the first prototype, numbered PV-1 — which is currently being used for flight-testing new systems.

(The PV-1) was originally built to support the Kaveri engine. While the engine, in its present form, would not suffice for the Tejas, a Kaveri “dry engine” could be used for one of the futuristic unmanned systems,” says P S Subramanyam, director, ADA.

GTRE has asked MoD for Rs 595 crore to develop the Kaveri dry engine for the USAV. This will fund the building of two new Kaveri engines, costing some Rs 50 crore each; and flight testing in Russia, which cost Rs 80 crore in 2010-11 and could cost significantly more now.

“We will take 48 months from the date we get clearance from the government, for completing 50 hours of testing the Kaveri on the Tejas LCA. During the last 12 months, we will actually fly the Tejas with the Kaveri,” says Ramnarayanan.

The defence minister told Parliament this month that the Kaveri project was sanctioned in March 1989 at a cost of Rs 382.8 crore and was to be completed by December 1996. This was revised (in 2005) to December 2009, while the cost was enhanced to Rs 2,839 crore. So far, Rs 1,996 crore has been actually spent on the Kaveri.

Defending the cost escalation, GTRE points out that comparable engines — such as the General Electric F-404 and the Russian Klimov RD-33 — cost the equivalent of Rs 8,000 crore to build in the 1990s, and would cost Rs 12,000-14,000 crore today.

China Does It Cheaper Again

China is offering their new FK-1000 anti-aircraft system for export. This is a large truck containing radar, 25mm anti-aircraft cannon, and short range missiles. This is seen as a pretty direct copy of the Russian 2K22 (SA-18) self-propelled (on a tracked vehicle) system armed with radar, eight anti-aircraft missiles (10 kilometers range), and two 30mm (4,000 meters range) automatic cannon (with 1,900 rounds of ammo). The FK-1000 has two 25mm cannon and twelve copies of the Tunguska missiles used on the 2K22 system. The FK-1000 is mounted on an 8x8 wheeled vehicle and carries a more modern AESA radar. 

Thus, the FK-1000 is not the most modern weapon of this type. In 2008, Russia began replacing the 2K22 with the more modern Pantsir-S1, which is mounted on an 8x8 truck. Each vehicle carries radar, two 30mm cannon, and twelve upgraded Tunguska missiles. The 90 kg (198 pound) Tunguska missile has a twenty kilometer range while the Pantsir-S1 radar has a 30 kilometer range.The missile can hit targets at up to8,400 meters (26,000 feet) high. The 30mm cannon is effective up to 3,200 meters (10,000 feet). Thevehicles used to carry all the Pantsir-S1 can vary, but the most common one used weighs 20 tons and has a crew of three. EachPantsir-S1 vehicle costs about $15 million, which is about the same as the older 2K22 but with superior capabilities. The FK-1000 looks more like the Pantsir-S1 but has capabilities closer to the older2k22 and costs closer to $5 million each.

The Chinese Version of BrahMos.

China found its first export customer (Pakistan) for its new CM-400AKG supersonic cruise missile. With a max range of 250 kilometers and a guidance system that includes GPS, onboard radar, and an image recognition system that can identify a specific target, this new missile uses its high speed to evade defenses on ships.In all these respects the CM-400AKG is very similar to the Indo-Russian BrahMos. One majordifference between the two missiles is that the CM-400AKG is still in development and there is no evidence of tests. This “sale” may be a ploy by the Chinese manufacturer to determine if it will be worth the huge expense toactually make this missile work. To understand that conundrum, consider the background of the missile the CM-400AKG is so similar to. BrahMos is a 3.2 ton missile with a range of 300 kilometers and a 300 kg (660 pound) warhead. Perhaps the most striking characteristic is its high speed, literally faster (at up to 1,000 meters/3,100 feet per second) than a rifle bullet. Guidance is GPS or inertial to reach the general area of the target (usually a ship or other small target), then a radar that willidentify the specific target and hit it. The high speed at impact causes additional damage (because of the weight of the entire missile). All this is almost identical with the CM-400AKG. India and Russia developed the weapon together and now offer itfor export. The high price of each missile, about $2-3 million (depending on the version), restricts the number of countries that can afford it. The weapon entered service with the Indian navy in 2005. Different versions ofthe missile can be fired from aircraft, ships, ground launchers, or submarines. The maximum speed of 3,000 kilometers an hour makes it harder to intercept and means it takes five minutes orless to reach its target. The air launched version weighs 2.5 tons. The 9.4 meter (29 foot) long, 670mm diameter missile is an upgraded version of the Russian SS-NX-26 (Yakhont) missile, which was still in development when theCold War ended in 1991. Lacking money to finish development and begin production, the Russian manufacturer eventually made a deal with India to put up most of the $240 million needed to finally complete two decades of development. The BrahMos is being built in Russia and India, with the Russians assisting India in setting up manufacturing facilities for cruise missile components. Efforts are being made to export up to 2,000 but no one has placed an order yet. Russia and India are encouraged enough to invest in BrahMos 2, which will use a scramjet, instead of a ramjet, in the second stage. This would double the speed and make the missile much more difficult to defend against.