The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (Russian: Чёрная акула; Chornaya Akula) is a single-seat Russian attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the Kamov design bureau. It was designed in the 1980s and adopted for service in the Soviet Army in 1995. It is currently manufactured by the Progress company in Arsenyev. It is being used as a heavily armed scout helicopter.
During the late 1990s, Kamov and Israel Aerospace Industries developed a tandem-seat cockpit version, the Kamov Ka-50-2 "Erdogan", to compete in Turkey's attack helicopter competition. Kamov also designed another two-seat variant, the Kamov Ka-52 "Alligator" (Russian: Аллигатор).
Variants[]
- Kamov V-80: Prototype version for Ka-50.
- Kamov Ka-50: Single-seat version.
- Kamov Ka-50N: Ka-50 with improved Night attack capability.
- Kamov Ka-50Sh: Ka-50 with improved Night attack capability.
- Kamov Ka-50-2 "Erdogan": version with a two-seat tandem cockpit.
- Kamov Ka-52 "Alligator": version with a two-seat side-by-side cockpit.
- Kamov Ka-52K: naval version, folding blade and reinforced landing gear, wing shortened for the possibility of basing on ships and the possibility of using anti-ship missile Kh-35.