The promising Russian deck-mounted helicopter "Lamprey" should replace the honored "veteran" Ka-27 at the combat post. Aviation experts agree that the new machine with a smaller size will be much more powerful than its predecessor, and modern equipment and competent equipment will make it a formidable and effective weapon.
Main fleet helicopter
Since 1981, the main aircraft for detecting enemy submarines and conducting search and rescue operations as part of the Russian Navy has been the Ka-27 carrier-based helicopter.
Navigation, aerobatic and anti-submarine (automated search and sighting system "Octopus") equipment, very innovative for its time, gradually lost its relevance and became obsolete. After numerous options for the modernization of the machine (more than 400 units were produced in total), it became obvious that the carrier-based aircraft needed a brand new helicopter.
Born predator
Since 2016, flight tests of four prototypes of the marine version of the famous Alligator, the Ka-52K Katran, have been conducted. Folding blades and load-bearing consoles, reinforced chassis racks and additional anti-corrosion treatment distinguish the vehicle from its ground counterpart. The performance characteristics of the Katran are beyond praise, and a payload of more than two tons makes the helicopter a real flying arsenal.
But the fact is that the car was created specifically for aircraft carriers and helicopter carriers (in particular, for the unforgettable "Mistral"). It is possible to place a helicopter on large anti-submarine ships, but operation on
destroyers and missile cruisers is fraught with certain problems.
Priority
Since 2015, in the design bureau of JSC "Kamov", by order of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, a project was launched to create a multifunctional marine helicopter. It is difficult to call the official information about the new 450 product (Ship's helicopter "Lamprey") exhaustive. At a press conference held during the Helirussia-2016 exhibition, one of the leaders of the Russian Helicopters holding told journalists about the start of experimental design work.
Responding to questions from a TASS correspondent, the General Designer and Direct Project Manager S. Mikheev (Kamov JSC) confirmed that the creation of a multivariate promising helicopter complex is a priority vector for the activities of his unit. The Lamprey deck helicopter will pass state tests no earlier than in a decade. At the moment, the technical configuration of the machine is agreed upon, the dimensions are tied to ship standards, the main tactical, operational and economic characteristics are determined, aerodynamic tests of the hull are carried out . According to the designer, the first experimental lamprey "Lamprey" will fly into the sky in 2020. In the future, it is planned to develop a combined arms and civilian version of the machine.
Opinions of aviation experts
Aviation expert V. A. Karnozov and military pilot D. Drozdenko agree that the created device will not have such impressive dimensions as its predecessors. This will allow him to be based on smaller ships, and on ships of the class frigate and corvette, instead of one old machine, place two new ones. In connection with the improvement and miniaturization of the radio electronic base, experts indicate the maximum take-off weight of the helicopter in the region of five to six tons (for the Ka-27, this figure is 12 tons).
The Minoga marine helicopter will have a coaxial scheme, traditional for the Kamov vehicles. The advantage of this design is not only in the features of aerodynamics: the absence of a rear tail rotor allows you to limit the size of the fuselage with the diameter of the rotors. The use of composite materials and the special shape of the blades, minimizing the possibility of disruption of air flow at high speeds, reduce drag and increase the machine’s flight speed to 320 km / h.
Smart Iron
The United Instrument-Making Corporation has actively joined the Lamprey project. It is planned to equip the helicopter with the latest communications system developed by the military industrial complex of the defense industry - the Nizhny Novgorod Research and Production Enterprise "Flight". The automated integrated control system with a reprogrammable platform integrates self-diagnosis subsystems and optimization of operating modes. Protected and noise-resistant broadband communication channels are capable of transmitting not only voice information, but also broadcasting a video stream, navigation and radar data. At the same time, the number of external antennas is minimized. So, the antenna system "Aist-62" is supposed to be built into the body of the fuselage of the helicopter.
The developed complex is easily integrated into any automated combat and command and control systems. Specialists of "Flight" continue to work to improve and modernize instruments and equipment.
Power point
The helicopter "Lamprey" is supposed to be equipped with two turboshaft engines TV7-117V (or, according to some, adapted versions of VK-2500).
The new generation power units are easy to maintain, have a significant resource. The modular design guarantees good maintainability in the field. Fuel efficiency is ensured by a high level of parameters and efficiency of the main components and assemblies. You can see more details in the table below.
Technical characteristics of TV7-117V| Maximum power (hp) | 3500 |
| Takeoff Power (hp) | 2500 |
| Cruising Power (hp) | 1650 |
| Fuel consumption g / l. s. * h | 208 |
| Total resource (hour) | 6000 (in the future - 12000) |
| Overhaul interval | 1500 |
| Length (m) | 1.78 |
| Height (m) | 0.727 |
| Width (m) | 0.635 |
| Weight (kg) | 380 |
Sea Devil
The anti-submarine equipment of the new project is kept in the strictest confidence, but now experts call the Lamprey helicopter a nightmare for submarines. We can say with confidence that in this regard, the performance of the deck Ka-92 will far exceed the capabilities of its predecessor, which are still considered unique. The Ka-27 confidently detects, tracks and eliminates submarines operating at depths of up to 500 meters at speeds up to 75 km / h. The maximum distance of the helicopter from the base vessel reaches 200 km. The helicopter performs assigned combat missions at any time of the day under difficult weather conditions and sea surface disturbances up to 5 points on the Beaufort scale (wave height - up to 2.5 m, wind speed - up to 10 m / s).
Generation change
The continued operation of the Ka-27s will allow engineers and military specialists to perfect the created Lamprey helicopter. Referring to the ten-year period of the project, the general designer of Kamov S. Mikheev said that only after testing the helicopter in the army and navy can we talk about the "birth" of a new model. To work on the project will use the half-century experience of helicopter holding and operating rotorcraft.
It should be noted that talk of a new fifth-generation marine helicopter for the Russian Navy has been stubbornly since 2009. Information about it in various sources is very contradictory and, apparently, is associated with the secrecy of development and production. The very fact that the top managers of the Russian Helicopters holding confirms the start of work ensures that the fleet will receive a new ship helicopter in the next decade.