"Alligator" - a helicopter, which today has the most advanced complex of on-board equipment and the most effective weapons system. In addition, this combat vehicle, which has no analogues in the world, has a number of unique aerobatic and tactical characteristics and capabilities. The Alligator is a helicopter officially recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the best fighting vehicle of the world in its class. It is safe to say that the Ka-52, which is an extremely successfully modified two-seat version of the legendary Ka-50 Black Shark helicopter, is considered the pride of the domestic armed forces and the triumph of Russian scientific and technical thought.
The main difference from its predecessor is a double cabin with transverse crew members. "Alligator" - a helicopter designed to assault fortified ground targets from the lowest possible heights, regardless of weather conditions and time of day. The appearance of the second pilot allowed to significantly expand the combat capabilities of the machine. A new crew member can provide (simultaneously with fire support of ground units) reconnaissance and electronic warfare, detection and recognition of targets even at maximum distance. Also, it became possible to conduct target designation, target allocation and coordination of ground forces, effectively interact with attack aircraft.
In the journal "Aviation and Cosmonautics" the Ka-52 Alligator helicopter is called the machine of intellectual support. He fully justifies this definition. Alligator is a helicopter equipped with such perfect navigation equipment that allows the combat vehicle to return to its starting point completely independently in case of injured pilots or loss of consciousness. Most on-board equipment systems operate on a “plug and play” basis. In other words, they are equipped with unique intelligent autonomous systems.
More than the third part of the machine’s body is made of lightweight and extremely durable composite materials, which significantly reduced the helicopter's flight weight, armored all vital components and assemblies, and also reliably protected the cockpit, which, by the way, is equipped with three multifunctional modern color LCD displays, and crew members have at their disposal special helmet-mounted indicator sights.
The Alligator helicopter is intended for round-the-clock combat, reconnaissance and coordination use. He works great in a group with other machines, interacts with ground units and command posts. In the future, it is planned to include advanced anti-tank missiles with a range of up to fifteen kilometers in its armament. In the bow segment of the fuselage of the machine, Thompson thermal imagers are installed. This choice is due to some delays in the development of similar domestic equipment and the desire of the OKB to show potential customers their willingness to equip the best combat helicopter in the world with electronic systems of not only domestic production, but also foreign ones.
In an impressive sphere located above the cockpit, there is a Samshit optical-locating complex of Russian design, which includes various ultramodern television and laser equipment. The machine is also equipped with a powerful telescope with an extremely sensitive optical head, which has a special rangefinder-target designator. Such equipment allows the detection and tracking of small targets at a great distance, organically complementing the much more “finicky” television thermal imaging systems. Over the hub of the rotors installed radar "Crossbow", which is the most advanced equipment of this kind in the world.
Of course, the introduction of such sophisticated equipment and the addition of a co-pilot to the crew without making any changes to the previous power plant led to a decrease in some flight characteristics of the Ka-52 compared to the Black Shark. The ceiling and rate of climb decreased, the magnitude of the maximum operational overload decreased slightly. However, the “Alligator” is not intended to “rush into the embrasure with the breast”, taking fire on itself. This is a true and sophisticated intellectual of special operations. Its main mission is to ensure the combat use of more dynamic and “thick-skinned” Black Sharks, which the Ka-52 harmoniously supplements. In addition, his main tasks are battle control, coordination and reconnaissance and covering activities, which determined the composition of his radio and optoelectronic equipment.