Gator on the Rise
Kamov's Hokum Attack Helicopter Story 1977-2015
Alexander Mladenov
The Kamov Ka-50 (NATO codename Hokum) was developed as a new-generation heavily-armoured attack helicopter - originally conceived as a one-to-one replacement of the Mi-24 Hind. The programme was launched at the Moscow-based Kamov Experimental Design Bureau in the late 1970s. The concept - promoted by the then young and inventive head of Kamov, Sergey Mikheev - called for an unorthodox, well-protected, agile and small-size attack machine.
The unorthodox attack rotorcraft made its maiden flight in June 1982. It pioneered the Kamov’s trademark co-axial rotor scheme, combined with a highly automated flight/navigation/targeting suite and long-range anti-tank guided missiles. In the late 1980s - after a protracted head-to-head competition pitted against the Mil Mi-28 - it was judged as being definitely superior to its competitor and was subsequently ordered for serial production.
The first production-standard Ka-50 took to the air in May 1991 and the new type was formally commissioned into Russian Army Aviation Service in August 1995. As many as five prototypes and 13 production-standard helicopters were manufactured between 1982 and 2009.
The single-seat and highly-automated Ka-50, however, appeared on the scene at just the wrong time, with its production launched during the dissolution of the mighty Soviet Union and the onset of sharp cuts in Russia’s defence budget, which led to its termination in the late 2000s.
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- Paperback: 144 pages
- Publisher: Helion and Company (15 Mar. 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781911096450
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 1.3 x 28.6 cm