Russian helicopter "Black Shark" with sharp teeth

The newest Russian attack helicopter, the Black Shark, first ascended to the sky in 1982, and was conceived in the already distant seventies, when the army felt the need for a powerful, maneuverable and invulnerable air helper. For a long time even the silhouette of this car was classified. As the technological achievements of recent years, its avionics has been constantly improved.

Percussion helicopters appeared long ago, the American AH-1 "Cobra" participated in the Vietnam war, later, in the eighties, Apache AH-64 appeared. The main features of this class of rotorcraft were an armored pilot site, high maneuverability and powerful armament. In general, the machines that are in the arsenal of the US Army meet all these requirements, but the aerospace exhibition in Farnborough showed complete superiority over them of the Russian Ka-50 helicopter "Black Shark".

Any project begins with a conceptual scheme. Coaxial screws have undeniable advantages over one carrier and one compensatory propeller, as in American attack helicopters. Practically unlimited maneuverability, higher reliability, ease of construction and the ability to perform aerobatics figures proved the rightness of designers of KB named after Kamov, who chose the traditional for this bureau, a "proprietary" counter-two-screw scheme.

But not only the unique flight characteristics of the "Black Shark". The pilot in this helicopter can feel very calm. He is not afraid of antiaircraft artillery shells or fragments, on either of the two engines he will be able to fly to his base, and the rescue system will help him out in an environment that may seem hopeless.

The catapult works in two seconds: - First of all, the propeller blades are shot, then the glazing of the cabin, and next - the pilot's chair. The height at which this occurs does not matter.

In the design of the Black Shark helicopter, composite materials are widely used, from which the rotor blades, fuel tanks and some fuselage power elements are made. Thus, the risk of fire in case of damage is significantly reduced, and internal protectors tighten the holes.

In order to conduct a modern battle, you need to constantly upgrade the equipment. Ka-50 "Black Shark", a 2-seater version, which was developed in recent years, is so saturated with information support that it can perform almost any combat missions. The pilot is notified of possible threats, his actions are instantly corrected from the ground, fire control systems allow to hit several different targets simultaneously.

The "Black Shark" helicopter is very convenient in ground handling, all the nodes subject to scheduled repairs are closed with hoods, and bearings made of polymer composites do not require lubrication. The cannon fire systems are designed so that they can be charged quickly.

The weapons complex includes means of combating enemy tanks - ATGMs that operate on the "shot-forget" principle.

Work on improving this machine continues now, when it is put into mass production.