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8/10/2019 Ka-52 Kamov
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“It flies nicely and looks menacing,”
says Russian Flight Research Institute
pilot Mikhail Pavlenko. That’s the
short summary of the coaxial rotor,
two-seat Kamov Ka-52 Alligator.
This specialised, armoured reconnaissance-
attack helicopter was to have been produced
in small numbers for the Russian Air Force
(RuAF) and only used for special purposes
such as support of special operations forces
in mountainous regions, counter-terrorism
and counter-insurgency operations. The
development and testing phase, however,
proved so smooth it was eventually decided to
start mass production.
The Russian Air Force’s (RuAF’s) army
aviation branch has already taken on 65 Ka-
52s and production is set to run at least until
2020 for domestic and export orders. Around
190 – the Russian defence ministry has not
revealed the exact figure – were ordered for
the army aviation branch and the RussianNavy’s air arm is to get 32 of a specialised
shipborne version dubbed the Ka-52K.
Following construction of two prototypes
and three pre-series Alligators, an initial
production batch of 12 Ka-52s was ordered in
2009, with the first four taken on strength by the
RuAF army aviation branch in December 2010.
A deal for a follow-on batch is said to have
included up to 36 helicopters, handed over by
the end of February 2014; and on August 31,
2011 a new and much larger contract, including
143 Ka-52s, will see delivery up to 2020.
DEVELOPMENTFirst design works on a two-seat derivative
of the Kamov Ka-50, designated the Ka-52,
began as early as 1994 under the leadership
of Kamov’s long-serving designer general,
Sergey V Mikheev. The first prototype made
its maiden flight on June 25, 1997 in the hands
of veteran Kamovtest pilot Alexander Smirnov.Wearing serial number 061, it saw extensive
use in testing and evaluation campaigns and
for marketing purposes, the configuration of its
sensor package and avionics suite changing
several times over the years.
In 2003, it completed the first stage of
its state testing programme to confirm its
flying performance. Three years later the
Russian defence ministry allocated a long-
awaited budget for systems development
testing and set up the serial production line
at the Aresenyev Aviation Company (AAC) in
Russia’s Far East.
The second Ka-52 prototype (062) took
to the air in June 2008 and the third (063)
four months later. In 2009, three pre-series
examples were rolled out for the type’s mission
suite and weapons trials. Both 062 and 063
and two pre-series examples are still used by
Kamov for trials and customer demonstration
campaigns at the company’s Flight-Test
Complex in Zhulebino, Moscow.
DESIGN FEATURESWhen the Ka-52 project first started in the mid-
1990s, the primary design goal was to achieve
as much commonality as possible with thesingle seat Ka-50 and only a new, two-seat
nose module was introduced – the rest of
the fuselage, flight controls, rotor system and
powerplant remaining almost untouched. This
simplified production and trials as the
DANGEROUSALLIGATOR
The Kamov Ka-52Alligator is set to forma considerable part of
Russia’s attack helicopter force –not bad for a design intended to be produced
in limited numbers. Alexander Mladenov reports.
79www.aviation-news.co.uk
The Russian Air Force army aviation branch
will receive around 190 Kamov Ka-52 Alligators
after the helicopter exceeded expectations
during early development. Andrey Zinchuk via
Alexander Mladenov
8/10/2019 Ka-52 Kamov
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prototypes and development Ka-52s were
manufactured using Ka-50 components.The two contra-rotating three-blade coaxial
rotors contribute to the helicopter’s compact
appearance, stability of flight and high agility.
A coaxial rotorcraft’s control system is also
simpler and more reliable than a conventional
helicopter’s in that it doesn’t need a tail rotor.
In addition, six rotor blades reduce vibration
by tending to mutually suppress each other’s
oscillations.
The Ka-52 features an unusual side-by-
side cockpit. Mikheev claimed this was a
must-have requirement raised by experienced
combat pilots from the Torzhok-based army
aviation combat training centre. Kamov’s test
pilot, Alexander Cherednichenko, explained:
“The side-by-side cockpit facilitates a much
better and faster interaction between the pilots
compared to the tandem cockpit configuration.
So, in all cases I can communicate with my
crewmate without talking at all, using body
language and hand signals only.”
The Ka-52’s cockpit is equipped with
dual controls and the pilot in the left seat has
an ILS-31 head-up display for piloting and
employing the forward-firing weapons. The
weapons system operator (a rated pilot) in
the right-hand seat works with the sensors tosearch, classify and identify targets and, when
needed, can employ anti-tank guided missiles.
The crew members are fully interchangeable
in terms of flying the helicopter and employing
both the sensors and weapons.
The helicopter’s nose is armour-protected
from projectiles up to 23mm calibre and,
according to Mikheev, the overall weight of the
armour used in the Ka-52 structure is less than
that of a similarly protected tandem cockpit
combat helicopter. Side-on crew protection
comprises armour screens on the canopy
side windows. The Ka-52 also features
non-standard design elements to increase
survivability and withstand hits from anti-
aircraft artillery and high-speed fragments from
detonated missile warheads. The internal fuel
tanks are explosion-proof and self-sealing and
the main gearbox is shielded by other, less
important equipment and fuselage structures.
The crew rescue system is centred around
the two crashworthy Zvezda K-37-800 ejection
seats which ensure simultaneous bale-out
through the canopy even on the ground at
zero forward speed. In an emergency landing,
survivability is enhanced by rugged, energy-
absorbing landing gear, enabling the crew to
survive hard landings with vertical speed of up
to 40ft/s (12m/s).
The Ka-52 prototypes and some of the
pre-production models were powered by two
Klimov TV3-117VMA turboshafts, each rated
at 2,200shp (1,640kW) take-off power and
Top: The Ka-52’s coaxial rotor provides stability
in flight, with the six rotor blades mutually
suppressing each other’s oscillations. via
Alexander Mladenov
Above: Kamov Ka-52 063 was displayed at the
Paris Air Show in 2013. Key-Dino Carrara
Right: The Alligator’s side-by-side cockpit
provides each crew member with two colour LCD
screens on the instrument panel in front of them
and two more in the central console for engine
and system information. Alexander Mladenov
80 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft January 2015
KA-52 SPECIFICATIONSDimensions Fuselage length: 44.39ft (13.53m)
Wing span: 23.95ft (7.30m)
Height: 16.24ft (4.95m)
Main rotor diameter : 47.57ft (14.50m)
Weights
Empty weight: 17,196lb (7,800kg)
Normal take-off weight: 22,928lb (10,400kg)
Max combat payload: 5,070lb (2,300kg)
PerformanceMax speed: 192mph (310km/h)
Max cruising speed: 167mph (270km/h)
Max rate of climb at sea level: 49.21ft/s (15m/s)
G-limit: +3.5/-1.3
Service ceiling: 17,388ft (5,300m)
Out of ground effect (OGE)hover ceiling in ISA conditions: 12,795ft (3,900m)
In ground effect (IGE) hoverceiling in ISA conditions: 14,271ft (4,350m)
Combat radius: 124 to 155 miles (200 to 250km)*
Ferry range: 671 miles (1,080km)**
* On internal fuel and 5% reserve
** With four underwing tanks
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featuring infrared (IR) emission suppressor
devices on the exhaust ducts. Production-
standard Alligators feature more powerful
Klimov VK-2500s with a take-off rating of
2,400shp (1,789kW) and emergency rating
in one engine inoperative (OEI) conditions of
2,700shp.
AVIONICS SUITEThe Ka-52 features the BREO-52 open
architecture all-digital integrated avionics suite
– with future growth capability – based on dual
Baget-53-17 high-speed processors and using
a GOST (government standards-approved) R
52070-2004 digital databus, equivalent to Mil-
Std 1553. Each crew member has two colour
LCD screens on the instrument panel in front
of them and there are two more in the central
console for engine and system information.
The GOES-451 system under the nose on
the Ka-52’s definitive configuration houses agyro-stabilised TV camera (featuring narrow
and wide fields of view), thermal imager, laser
rangefinder/designator, laser spot tracker and
anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) laser-beam
guidance system – and has a detection range
of tank-sized targets up to 5.4nm (10km) in
daylight and up to 3.2nm (6km) at night. It also
facilitates low-level night flight thanks to an
additional non-stabilised module containing a
TV camera and thermal imager.
The cockpit lighting is night-vision goggles
(NVG)-friendly and pilots are provided with
Geofizika -NV GEO-ONV-1-01K GEN III NVG
sets.
The helicopter has a nose-mounted FH-01
Arbalet-52 X-band/mechanical-scan radar
set (8mm wavelength), developed by the
Phazotron-NIIR company, which is useful
for night and adverse weather operations,
providing obstacle avoidance data (for ultra-
low altitude flight) as well as mapping of theunderlying terrain and target detection. There
is also a moving target indication (MTI) mode
for detecting moving vehicles at speeds
exceeding 6mph (10km/h) and at a maximum
distance of 8.6nm (16km).
Compared to its single-seat Ka-50
predecessor, the Ka-52 has an expanded
weapons suite carried on six hardpoints, with
the two outermost pylons reserved for air-to-air
missiles. Up to four 9M39 Igla-V heat-seeking
air-to-air missiles (maximum range of 3.1nm
[5.8km]) can be carried in two Strelets twin-
round launched units on the outermost pylons.
The anti-tank guided missiles in theAlligator’s arsenal include two main types –
the 9M120-1 Ataka-1 and the 9A4172 Vikhr-1
ATGM, originally developed for the Ka-50
(maximum range of 5.4nm [10km] and 3.2nm
[6km] respectively). Both use laser beam-
riding guidance mode, with targeting provided
by the GOES-451.
The Ka-52’s unguided weapons are 80mm
and 122mm rockets launched from 20-round
and five-round pods respectively. As Kamov’s
chief test pilot, Alexander S Papay noted, the
S-8 80mm rocket in particular has proved a
very precise weapon when fired from the Ka-
50 and Ka-52, thanks to the combination of
stable flight (due to the coaxial rotor systemand low vibration) and a highly precise
targeting system.
The helicopter can also employ 250kg
(552lb) and 500kg (1,100lb) free-fall bombs,
the ZAB-series of napalm tanks, KMGU-2
bomblet/mine dispensers and UPK-23-250
gun pods.
It also comes equipped with the NPPU-
80 limited-movement gun turret containing
a Shipunov 2A42 30mm cannon, which is
installed near the helicopter’s centre of gravity
to reduce impact on the helicopter structure
from its powerful recoil. Another advantage of
the gun is the huge ammunition capability ofits dual-feed system, housing 460 rounds.
It has two modes, trainable and fixed
forward firing, for destroying hardened point
targets and, as Papay noted, the weapon is
accurate up to 1.4 miles (2.3km). This in turn
means that, from a firing distance of 1,000m,
all the projectiles will hit a target measuring 1.5
x 1.5m.
Above left: Kamov Ka-52 95 is prepared for another mission. Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov
Above right: Production of the Ka-52 is set to run until at least 2020 for domestic orders with efforts to secure exports well under way. Alexander Mladenov
81www.aviation-news.co.uk
The Kamov Ka-52 boasts a potent arsenal carried on six hard points with the two outermost
pylons reserved for air-to-air missiles. Andrey Zinchuk via Alexander Mladenov
8/10/2019 Ka-52 Kamov
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The cannon can fire in rapid rate mode
at 900rpm. The slow rate is between 200
and 300rpm and it can also be used to fire
single shots. Muzzle velocity is around
980m/s (3,215ft/s) and, when combined with
the heavy projectile, this positions the 2A42
among the most powerful helicopter-installed
guns in the world.
Current Ka-52s commissioned with the
RuAF’s army aviation branch boast a fully
integrated Vitebsk-52 self-protection suite,the first of its kind on a Russian-made attack
helicopter. It combines missile approach
and laser warning sensors, a radar warning
receiver and a new-generation IR jammer
system with two downward-pointing heads of
lamp located on the fuselage sides.
IN SERVICEThe definitive Alligator configuration featuring
the full-operational capability mission suite
was approved for service in November
2011. By mid-2014, 65 Ka-52s were reported
to have been taken on strength by the
RuAF army aviation branch, although one
crashed in March 2012. A dozen more were
completed and tested at the AAC Progress
plant, ready for handover to the service in
September, with six more examples duefor delivery before the year’s end, bringing
the total to 71. The unit price of the Ka-52s
manufactured in 2012 and 2013 was just
slightly more than $25m.
The Alligator is scheduled to equip one
attack squadron in most of the RuAF army
aviation branch frontline units, meaning it will be
used by up to 12 squadrons, each with a fleet
of between 16 and 21 helicopters. Currently,
the 575th Air Base (Army Aviation) stationed at
Chernigovka airfield has 20, the 393rd Air Base
at Korenovsk has 16, the newly established
15th Army Aviation Brigade at Ostrov has 21
and the RuAF army aviation branch combat
training centre at Torzhok operates seven.The Kamov Ka-52 has exceeded all
expectations, proving to be a robust and
versatile operator. Alongside the Mil Mi-28N
‘Night Hunter’, it will provide the backbone of
Russia’s attack helicopter force for years to
come.
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82 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft January 2015
Russian Naval Aviation is set to receive 32
Ka-52Ks. S.V. Mikheev via Alexander Mladenov