Ka-52 in Russian Air Force

The first flight of a prototype of the modernized Ka-52M helicopter

As reported on August 10, 2020 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, in Arsenyev (Primorskaya Krai), in JSC "AAK" Progress "named after N.I. Sazykin ”of the Russian Helicopters holding (part of Rostec State Corporation), the first flight of a prototype of the newest modernized Ka-52M helicopter took place. This machine will use all the best technical solutions previously tested on helicopters produced both under the State Defense Order and for export. Combat helicopter Ka-52 (c) official photo of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, apparently not directly related to the release



“Large-scale reconstruction and technical re-equipment of production within the framework of the federal target program allowed us to significantly expand the technological capabilities of AAK Progress and start producing more advanced and reliable military equipment - modernized Ka-52 helicopters in the interests of the Russian armed forces. The enterprise has created new production facilities, eliminated bottlenecks, replaced worn-out equipment, expanded the range and reduced the labor intensity of manufacturing products. Thanks to the achieved increase in production efficiency, labor productivity and the quality of products, the enterprise has reached a new level today, ”said Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.

The new Ka-52M helicopter has an upgraded optoelectronic system with an increased target detection and recognition range, a new digital drive, which will improve the aiming accuracy when firing a cannon. The upgraded Ka-52 also received a new radar complex with an active phased antenna array and a guided missile with an increased range.

The Ka-52M main rotor blades are equipped with a more powerful heating element, which will allow the helicopter to operate over the entire temperature range, including Arctic conditions. The helicopter is equipped with landing gear wheels with higher bearing capacity and wear resistance, as well as lighting equipment based on LEDs. The modernized Alligator also has a new cockpit interior, which will ensure the fulfillment of modern ergonomic requirements, including when piloting in the dark with night vision goggles.

“On behalf of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, last year we started development work on the modernization of the Ka-52 helicopter, taking into account the experience of its combat use, which today made it possible to create a new machine with improved characteristics and expanded combat capabilities. The missile armament of the Ka-52M is unified with the armament of another newest helicopter, the Mi-28NM, which has made it possible to significantly increase the target engagement range, "said Russian Helicopters General Director Andrei Boginsky.

Flight tests of the Ka-52M will be carried out by specialists from the developer - JSC NCV Mil and Kamov, together with specialists from AAK Progress. Part of the test stages will be carried out on the territory of the manufacturer, and then the machines will be transferred to the developer. At the end of the preliminary acceptance tests, state joint tests will begin.


On the part of bmpd, we recall that in June 2020, the Mil and Kamov National Center for Helicopter Engineering (NCV Mil and Kamov of the Russian Helicopters holding) entered into an agreement with AAC Progress JSC named after N.I. Sazykin ”for the amount of about 153.5 million rubles for the manufacture and testing of two prototypes of the modernized Ka-52M helicopters based on the serial Ka-52 helicopters.

According to the procurement documentation, the revision of the Ka-52 helicopters to the Ka-52M level includes, among other things, the installation of new on-board systems: navigation, sighting, fire control systems and a communications complex, as well as interfacing with a new cruise missile - "product 305" ...

Refinement of two serial helicopters into the modernized appearance of the Ka-52M should be completed by the end of 2020, after which preliminary flight and state joint tests (GSI) of the Ka-52M should be carried out by the end of September 2022.

Earlier in May 2019, Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Krivoruchko announced plans to conclude a contract in 2020 for the purchase of 114 modernized Ka-52M Alligator helicopters.

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4110914.html

Do you have further info? I f I understood the interview correctly, the Katran uses de cm band while the regular VKS version works in the mm band, that is why they were thinking in making a combination of both, but I don't know if the idea was really implemented and is operational already. They were talking about it being cheaper than an AESA radar, sort of proposing it as an advanced variant for the future.

Technically decimetre and centimetre are overlapping bands... a decimetre is 10 centimetres.

In modern HATO terminology the MMW radar bands are L and M band, and the decimetre band is E band.



BTW: I hope that image is just a stock image of the Ka-52M because it uses the old huge EO ball rather than the new much smaller turret...

owais.usmani wrote:

Do you have a source for the picture? I am realising it looks identical to Egyptian Ka-52...

Thanks!

GarryB wrote:Technically decimetre and centimetre are overlapping bands... a decimetre is 10 centimetres.

In modern HATO terminology the MMW radar bands are L and M band, and the decimetre band is E band.

I am not sure I understand that. Russians use the order of magnitude (mm - cm - dm etc). cm band is normally traduced to Western denomination as X band, mm band in military is normally Ka, like used in the Longbow radar of the Apache.

GarryB wrote:

Do you have further info? I f I understood the interview correctly, the Katran uses de cm band while the regular VKS version works in the mm band, that is why they were thinking in making a combination of both, but I don't know if the idea was really implemented and is operational already. They were talking about it being cheaper than an AESA radar, sort of proposing it as an advanced variant for the future.

Technically decimetre and centimetre are overlapping bands... a decimetre is 10 centimetres.

In modern HATO terminology the MMW radar bands are L and M band, and the decimetre band is E band.



BTW: I hope that image is just a stock image of the Ka-52M because it uses the old huge EO ball rather than the new much smaller turret...

Here some Infographics on Arbalet which operates in Ka (MMW) and L (CMW) bandwidth.

It does track air and ground targets in the respective bandwidths.

@Werewolf:

great info, is that related to the already installed radar? They talk about an over the rotor antenna...

LMFS wrote:@Werewolf:

great info, is that related to the already installed radar? They talk about an over the rotor antenna...

The infographics is very old and was referring to mast mounted version for KA-52 which was most probably stretched by the looks of it. By stretched I mean the capabilities for the mast mounted radar version which was tiny compared to what it has now or what has Mi-28N. Those figures were probably the figures we would find on Arbalet FH-01 on Mi-28N and Ka-52. The mast mounted radar version was abandoned due to problems related to vibrations, reduction of flight performance, most probably underwhelming performance from the small size of it.

I don't have any recent information on the parameters.

I am not sure I understand that. Russians use the order of magnitude (mm - cm - dm etc). cm band is normally traduced to Western denomination as X band, mm band in military is normally Ka, like used in the Longbow radar of the Apache.

The thing is that if you have a cup... you could measure it in mm and in cm and in dm... so by definition a mm wave radar should operate in a frequency of 1cm or less.... ie in mms, while a cm wave radar operates in cms, but a radar that operates in the 10cm is both a cm wave radar technically and also a dm radar.

But how do you define it... from 99cm down to 10cm is dm, 9.9cm down to 1cm is cm wave and .9cm down to 1mm is mmw radar...

If you have a look here:

http://www.radioing.com/eengineer/bands.html

If you look at military frequencies C, X, Ku, and K, are cm wave while Ka is both cm and mm wave... in other words there are serious overlaps... it is not as straight forward as it could be.

Talk of this or that being MMW or CM wave, just means they operate within that band.

The black thimble radio command transmitter for Shturm and Ataka ATGMs is 35 GHz which puts in in Ka band and also in mmw radar frequency but it is not a radar as such... just a radio command channel...

GarryB wrote:If you look at military frequencies C, X, Ku, and K, are cm wave while Ka is both cm and mm wave... in other words there are serious overlaps... it is not as straight forward as it could be.

Talk of this or that being MMW or CM wave, just means they operate within that band.

Sure, different ways of referring the radar bands do not always have an exact translation between them. Russians often talk using the unit of the wavelength which is physics oriented but not as accurate as a concrete band... but ok now it is more or less clear regarding the Ka-52.

KH-35

LMFS wrote:

Sure, different ways of referring the radar bands do not always have an exact translation between them. Russians often talk using the unit of the wavelength which is physics oriented but not as accurate as a concrete band... but ok now it is more or less clear regarding the Ka-52.

It's actually an old system which apparently still in use in Russia. This is from "Radar Technology Encyclopedia"





The use of "wavelength" terms might also serve as means to allow talks about technical stuff without actually divulge the real exact operating band of the radar. As you can see "Decimetric" band according to above diagram can refers to UHF band (100 cm) down to S-band (10 cm) wavelength.

It's official, Product 305 has been confirmed to be 'Hermes' and will be displayed for the first time at Army 2020

https://www.russiadefence.net/t339p50-hermes-multi-purpose-guided-missile#291557

....Now that it's been confirmed to be Hermes, most of the Hermes related posts should be transferred to the proper thread:

https://www.russiadefence.net/t339-hermes-multi-purpose-guided-missile

The missile 305 was shown blurred on a 'Combat Approved" episode for the Mi-28NM with the weapon mounted under a wing pylon.

The weapon was blurred but looked like an R-73 and did not appear to be loaded in a tube...

I was actually thinking it might have been a cross between an R-73 and a Kh-25.

If the 305 is actually a Hermes then that is interesting because Hermes is tube launched, but then the fact that it comes in versions with 20km range and 100km range might mean the missile itself has rocket propulsion and that the two versions are explained as one with no rocket booster and a more direct flight to target but rocket powered weapon, while the 100km range model also has a solid rocket booster mounted behind it and a lofted trajectory to reach more distant targets in this case with the rocket motor maintaining speed to the target much further away.

Datalink and IIR seeker with inertial guidance to the target area and then transmitting a view of the target area to the launch platform for target selection via IIR sensor would be interesting...

magnumcromagnon wrote:It's official, Product 305 has been confirmed to be 'Hermes' and will be displayed for the first time at Army 2020

https://www.russiadefence.net/t339p50-hermes-multi-purpose-guided-missile#291557

....Now that it's been confirmed to be Hermes, most of the Hermes related posts should be transferred to the proper thread:

https://www.russiadefence.net/t339-hermes-multi-purpose-guided-missile

Was always obvious it was Hermes

Well to anyone bar a few clever clogs, especially on Twitter I think, someone who was trying to establish himself as an authority and was trying to convince me that the Izd. 305 was an entirely different, new project and that the Hermes has in fact been in service for years already

It's OK to speculate of course, but don't be trying to cooly pass off opinion as fact like that guy did

A lot of posts on the Mi-28N Havoc thread to transfer too.

New AESA radar on the Ka-52? EO seems the old one




It is very interesting that the AESA antenna seems movable. That would be one of the first nose mounted movable AESA worldwide, not to talk what a big improvement this means for helicopters

I'm not surprised, that it still have EO complex. They could just replace old thermal imaging camera with new, more capable one, which could see and recognize targets at longer distance. No need to replace whole EO complex. This one have six windows and many different channels, which smaller one for export doesn't have. AESA radar antenna looks bigger, than original Arbalet FH-01 mechanical antenna.

medo wrote:I'm not surprised, that it still have EO complex. They could just replace old thermal imaging camera with new, more capable one, which could see and recognize targets at longer distance. No need to replace whole EO complex. This one have six windows and many different channels, which smaller one for export doesn't have. AESA radar antenna looks bigger, than original Arbalet FH-01 mechanical antenna.

Ok thanks, I thought they were analogous and the smaller version was more advanced...

The helicopter where the pictures of the AESA radar were taken was actually a Ka-52K Katran:

I like the shape of the Katran

The ones on the left are likely the upgraded laser beam riding Ataka missiles... an evolution of the Shturm from the 1980s which was a cheap command guided missile... as was the Ataka... Very simply it used TV optics and IR sensor to track the missile and where the crosshairs were placed and instead of sending flight commands to the missile by wire, it was a radio command channel, via the black thimble on the nose of the Havoc and also under the nose of the Hind and Ka-29 and other aircraft that could use it including the ground launched Shturm vehicle (MTLB based).

The replacement for the Ataka is the Krisantema which is larger calibre and longer ranged and uses radar guidance for which it currently needs an external pod to use.

They seem to standardize everything for both helicopter which again shows that one of the two is not needed. Hopefully for them they cost the same price.

They have standardised weapons, but the Hokum is still more expensive than the Havoc and likely higher maintenance too, so they will likely keep using them both, because the Havoc is probably the better attack helicopter, while the Hokum is more of a heavy armed scout helicopter and now naval scout/attack helicopter.

I doubt they would save any money at all by getting rid of one from Russian service now... the money has essentially been spent.

Nice.

The new box rocket pods.

Seem to be stackable 10 shot ones... two, and then on the bottom a single 5 shot pod.

Interesting.

Originally they had two 20 shot round pods and a 7 shot pod for the 80mm calibre rockets... a flat fronted 20 shot pod for helicopters and slow flying aircraft, and a pointed 20 shot pod for higher speed aircraft (like the Su-25 and Su-24 etc).

The 7 shot pod I have seen on the Ansat light helicopter and also a single engined high wing monoplane patrol aircraft in the 1990s that were normally fitted together with HMGs.

I guess the patrol aircraft and light helicopters could use the 5 shot box pods and newer helicopters could carry two or perhaps more 10 shot pods linked together... the potential for three 10 shot pods linked together allowing 30 x 80mm rockets per pylon is interesting assuming they can be stacked...