Author: Rainbow Kursk
Recently, CCTV reporters visited the production line of the Russian Ka-52 "Short-lipped Crocodile" helicopter gunship and reported in detail on the performance of the helicopter. Around the same time, Phoenix TV also interviewed the sales director of the Ka-52 helicopter. At the same time, the Russian media has also begun to report on this helicopter one after another, and some media claim that the carrier-based Ka-52K of the Ka-52 helicopter is expected to be exported.
The Ka-52K is a ship-borne variant of the Ka-52 helicopter, known as the "Horned Shark", and the US AH-1Z Viper helicopter gunship is a special ship-based gunship designed for large amphibious assault ships. Under the background that the current Type 075 amphibious assault ship has been put into mass production, the ship-based gunship has become the focus of attention.
Photo: Russian Ka-52K "Horned Shark" carrier-based gunship.
The Ka-52K gunship was originally a specially designed and improved special shipboard gunship for the French-Russian Northwest Wind Amphibious Assault Ship Project, although the Northwest Wind Amphibious Assault Ship was not delivered to Russia due to France's perfidy, but the Ka-52K helicopter project continued to be carried out, hoping to be able to equip Russian-made amphibious assault ships.
In September 2020, the Ka-52K helicopter passed all tests and is about to be mass-produced, and the first four Ka-52Ks have been manufactured. Chief designer Sergei Mikhev specifically pointed out that the helicopter will be equipped on Russian naval vessels.
Picture: The original scheme of the Ka-52K helicopter was to fold the rotor and fold up with the short wing.
The Ka-52K Horned Shark and The Ka-52 Alligator helicopter gunships are similar in appearance, using coaxial pair rotors and folding rotor blades, allowing for a smaller footprint.
As a carrier-based helicopter, the biggest difference is the rotor folding and short wing folding, which can further reduce the space occupied, can carry more numbers on amphibious assault ships, and can also be transported with lifts. Originally the short wings of the aircraft were folded upwards, but were later changed to fold backwards.
Picture: The Ka-52K helicopter finally chose the short wing folded backwards.
The Ka-52K is a heavy gunship with powerful firepower, with 6 mounting points on both sides, which can carry more than 2.5 tons of ammunition and two subsonic anti-ship missiles weighing more than 600 kg at the same time.
In addition, the Ka-52K has advanced avionics equipment, the prototype uses mechanical scanning radar, and the mass production aircraft will be equipped with an active phased array radar, which can detect enemy ships at a distance of 150 kilometers, so that it can be used for precision strikes with anti-ship missiles. At the same time, the aircraft also has a full set of anti-tank combat capabilities and close support combat capabilities of the Ka-52 "Short-lip Crocodile" helicopter, carrying a large number of anti-tank missiles and rockets to carry out precision strikes against enemy tanks and bunkers on the beachhead.
Photo: Eco-52 photoelectric turret mounted under the ka-52K nose with missile warning system probe on the side.
Of course, the Ka-52K also has certain flaws, such as no rotating turret, the gun can basically only fire at the target within a certain range of the front, and the anti-tank missile is weaker than the American heavy anti-tank missile. In addition, due to the adaptation to the sea, the aircraft was slightly heavier than the air weight of the prototype of the Ka-52, which may affect the load of the aircraft.
These issues have become the focus of recent discussions among military fans and the arguments of dissenters attacking the helicopter.
However, these problems are not really a problem compared to the special helicopter gunships with folding rotors and full maritime combat capabilities that can be obtained in the short term. On the one hand, the armored force it faces is relatively weak, the strongest is only the second generation of main battle tanks, even if it faces the M1A2 main battle tank in the future, it can also be eliminated from the air, and the Ka-52K should be regarded as a low-altitude strong strike aircraft that can take off vertically compared to western helicopter gunships, which is also the consistent design idea of Soviet and Russian gunships. In large-scale regular operations, it is directly pushed sideways.
Image: The Ka-52K gunship, which can carry anti-ship missiles, is also a nightmare for small and medium-sized ships.
At present, helicopter gunships such as the Z-10 are also mainly supplied to the Army Aviation Corps, and it is necessary to change a naval gunship on the basis of the Z-10, which is actually not difficult, but the problem is time. Moreover, the limitation of engine power also makes the Z-10 have to face a heavier fuselage after ship-based modification. This may be difficult to resolve in the short term.
From design experiments to mass production, it takes several years, and if it doesn't start a few years in advance, it is indeed a hurry now.
In this case, the introduction of a batch of cards -52K as a transition is not inevitable. After all, our Marine Corps is not an independent service like the U.S. Marine Corps, but is subordinate to the Navy, and the Navy has a wealth of experience in the use of Kamov helicopters, so it is not difficult to train the Replacement Card-52K. In fact, the original design of the Z-10 also had the support of the Kamov Design Bureau, so the two sides were able to communicate better so that the Ka-52K could form combat effectiveness as soon as possible.
Photo: Kamov Design Bureau's 941 Engineering Helicopter Gunship, like who needless to say.
Of course, the Ka-52K is not a long-term solution, just like the Navy Ka-28 helicopter has been basically retired from active service, the future carrier-based gunship must be a domestic model.
However, in the context of the increasingly severe situation of the relevant struggle, it is imperative to accelerate the generation of the combat effectiveness of the 075 ship as soon as possible, and time is not waiting for anyone!
Image: Time is not waiting for anyone