The newest Russian Black Shark attack helicopter first flew up in 1982, and was conceived in the distant seventies, when the army felt the need for a powerful, maneuverable and invulnerable airborne helper. For a long time, even the silhouette of this car was kept secret. With the technological advances of recent years, his avionics has constantly improved.
Attack helicopters appeared a long time ago, the American AH-1 Cobra participated in the Vietnam War, and later, in the eighties, the Apache AH-64 appeared. The main features of this class of rotorcraft are an armored pilot's seat, high maneuverability and powerful weapons. In general, vehicles armed with the US Army meet all of these requirements, but the Farnborough aerospace exhibition showed complete superiority over them to the Russian Ka-50 Black Shark helicopter.
Any project begins with a conceptual framework. Coaxial propellers have undeniable advantages over one main and one compensation propellers, as in American attack helicopters. Almost unlimited maneuverability, higher reliability, ease of construction and the ability to perform aerobatics became evidence of the correctness of the designers of the Kamov Design Bureau, who chose the “proprietary” reciprocal-twin-screw design for this bureau.
But Black Shark is not only unique in flight performance. The pilot in this helicopter can feel very calm. He is not afraid of anti-aircraft artillery shells or splinters, on either of the two engines he can fly to his base, and the rescue system will help him out in an environment that may seem hopeless.
The catapult fires in two seconds: - first, the rotor blades are fired, then the cockpit glazing, and then the pilot's seat. The height at which this occurs does not matter.
Composite materials are widely used in the construction of the Black Shark helicopter, of which rotor blades, fuel tanks and some power elements of the fuselage are made. Thus, the risk of fire in the event of damage is significantly reduced, and internal protectors tighten holes.
In order to conduct a modern battle, you need to constantly upgrade equipment. The Ka-50 "Black Shark", a 2-seater version that has been developed in recent years, is so rich in information support that it can perform almost any combat mission. The pilot is notified of possible threats, his actions are instantly corrected from the ground, fire control systems allow you to hit several different targets at the same time.
The Black Shark helicopter is very convenient in ground handling, all components subject to scheduled repairs are closed by hoods, and bearings made of polymer composites do not require lubrication. Cannon fire systems are designed so that they can be loaded quickly.
The weapons complex includes anti-tank weapons - ATGMs operating on the principle of "shot-forgot."
Work on improving this machine continues even now that it has been launched into mass production.