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Ka-60 "Kasatka" / Ka-62

The Kamov Ka-60 Kasatka (Orca - Killer Whale, not swallow) was the very first helicopter of the Kamov company built in "classic" scheme. All the previous Kamov's helicopters were of co-axial-rotors scheme. Product B-60, or Ka-60, or “Killer Whale” is a medium-sized multi-purpose helicopter project designed both for training Russian Air Force pilots and for air reconnaissance, evacuating the wounded from the battlefield, transporting passengers (paratroopers) and cargo, and also for giving instructions to helicopters in the air.

The bureau developers switched to the single-rotor design of the B-60 product in order to achieve the maximum increase in helicopter flight speed with the same power plant. The prototypes of the helicopters are equipped with a four-bladed HB, and on serial machines it was planned to install a five-bladed main rotor with noise-reducing tips. It is noteworthy that the Ka-60 (B-60) is equipped with retractable landing gears and has a radio-absorbing fuselage coating, which in turn helps to reduce the recognition of the helicopter by enemy radar.

Developed as a reconnaissance helicopter and for light transport missions the Kasatka first flew on December 24, 1998 but problems with the RD-600V engines halted the program. On April 2011 an agreement was signed with French Turbomeca to use the 1,306 kW (1,751 hp) Turbomeca Ardiden 3G turboshaft for a revised Ka-62. In the summer of 2010, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation decides to terminate the financing of the Ka-60 helicopter program. Nevertheless, the Russian Ministry of Defense in the future plans to purchase a “militarized” version of the Ka-62 helicopter for the needs of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The Ka-60 single-rotor multi-role army helicopter is designed to replace the existing Russian military light transport helicopters, such as the Mi-8. A naval version for ship-borne operations, the Ka-60K, is also planned as a replacement for the Russian Navy's Ka-25T Hormone-B over-the-horizon target acquisition helicopter.

The civil Ka-62 version is developed on the basis of the Ka-60 and features high fuel efficiency and flight safety. The Ka-64 was a civil version of Ka-60 that was to be jointly developed with Augusta using foreign engines. This draft project was completed in 1996 and subsequently suspended.

The first prototype Kamov Ka-60 medium-sized, twin-turbine helicopter was formally rolled-out at the manufacturer's Lubercy facility on 29 July 1998. The first official flight of army helicopter Ka-60 "Kasatka" took place 24 December 1998 at the flight and test station of the Kamov company. The aircraft created by a team under the supervision of leading designed Vyacheslav Krygin was flown by the test-pilot Vladimir Lavrov. Although the Russian defence ministry has an urgent requirement for 300 Ka-60s to replace the Mi-8 Hip, the financial crisis in Russia in the late 1990s put large-scale production of the new helicopter in doubt.

In late 2006 the Ulan-Ude aircraft plant had been preparing its manufacturing facilities for the production of new Ka-62 utility helicopter and its Ka-60 military version. The plant's Director General Leonid Belykh said "We are executing the required documents and unfolding the active preproduction phase of the new helicopter." He added that the Ka-62 project was included in the Commercial Aviation Development Program in effect till 2015, which means that the plant is likely to receive the governmental support. "We are waiting for the official investments. As soon as they are provided, the mechanism will get rolling," he said According to him, his plant will make the entire model line of helicopters of this family, including the military Ka-60.

He added that the "Progress" Arsenyev aircraft plant would assist in making the Ka-62s, given it has wealth of expertise in assembling Ka-50 and Ka-52 attack helicopters. "The "Arsenyev" plant will most likely build fuselages while we do the rest, including assembling," he said. According to earlier reports, the investment required to start production of Ka-62 at the Ulan-Ude plant amounts to $150 million. Director General of the "Oboronprom" united defense corporation Denis Manturov said, a total of $60 million had already been allocated. As of late 2007 it was expected that the first mass-produced Ka-62 would be rolled out from the assembly shops in Ulan-Ude in two or three years. By 2010, the production rate of some 30-40 aircraft per year was expected.

In 2007 Oboronprom initiated a licensed assembly project for the 6.5-ton Italian-British Agusta Westland AW139 helicopter. The AW139 does compete with Russia's own Kamov Ka-60 and Ka-62 projects. However, due to the lack of full-scale funding for these Russian helicopters and absence of engines for them, it is easier for Oboronprom to acquire a license to produce the AW139. The agreement with Agusta Westland includes Oboronprom's rights to customize the AW139 for Russian operational conditions. The search for an international partner to assemble a 6.5-ton-category helicopter was spurred by problems with Russia's own Ka-62.

The power plant of the helicopter was a new-generation modular-design RKBM Rybinsk RD-600V turboshafts, each rated at 956kW (1,282shp), developed by Rybinsk Motor Design Bureau, headed by Mr. A. Novikov, Designer General. In an October 2006 meeting with Oboronprom, it was noted that the RD-600 engine developed by NPO Saturn for the Ka-62 did not correspond to the technical specifications for specific fuel consumption, weight and other parameters. Subsequently, the Russian Klimov engine manufacture conducted work on a powerplant for the Ka-60 and Ka-62.

Ka-60 "Kasatka" was intended for carrying landing troops, delivery of weapons and ammunition to the battlefield area, evacuation of casualties, protection and patrol of economic zones when based on the ships, search and rescue operations, training of crews. The multipurpose light helicopter can do well as a reconnaissance and air landing aircraft and may be used in troop training programs. It is meant for the transportation of weapons and ammunition to theaters of combat action, the evacuation of wounded servicemen, the protection and patroling of certain areas, and search and rescue operations. It may, with certain adjustments, be also used for radioelectronic jamming and VIP travel, by firemen and in high security and autonomous navigation operations.

Ka-60 helicopter has single-rotor scheme with five-blade rotor of 13.5-m diameter. The polymeric composite blade is attached to the hub by a torsion bar. The airframe features perfect aerodynamic outlines, large door openings on both fuselage sides, retractable three-leg energy-absorbing landing gear and multi-blade (11 blades) tail rotor in the tail ring. The seats of the crew and the troopers are energy attenuating seats. The pilot-in-command is on the right-hand seat. The power plant of the helicopter is comprised of new-generation modular-design engines developed by Rybinsk Motor Design Bureau, headed by Mr. A. Novikov, Designer General.

Particular attention is paid to the increased combat survivability means of the helicopter. All principal systems and units of Ka-60 are duplicated and separated. The rotor blades with several holes from the automatic gun hits remain operable. The control system links and transmission shafts sustain the hits of 12.7-mm bullets. The composite polymeric materials that make about 60% of the helicopter structural weight also add to the increased survivability of the helicopter being more resistant to the combat damages. The foam polyurethane that filled the tanks prevents the danger of the fuel explosion. Higher survivability of the helicopter in the battlefield is also achieved by lower optical, IR and radar signatures.

The on-board avionics suite depends on the application version of the helicopter. The basic suite for all versions is the one for transport assault helicopter. This suite ensures operational missions in daytime and night, in VFR and IFR conditions.

The first flight instance of the Ka-60 (aircraft number 601) was built on the pilot production of the developer (JSC "Kamov") [8] . Made its first flight on December 10, 1998. The second Ka-60 (aircraft number 602) began to be built at the Lukhovitsky Engineering Plant, which is part of the MAPO of the Russian MiG Aircraft Corporation , where it was planned to launch mass production of Ka-60/62 helicopters . However, primarily due to the lack of state funding, the helicopter was not completed there. Its completion and preparation for flight tests was subsequently carried out at the pilot production of Kamov OJSC. Tests of the second machine began in 2007.

On June 23, 2010, during the control flight of the helicopter after six months of inactivity, the second Ka-60 (aircraft number 602) was destroyed during an emergency landing between the cities of Dzerzhinsky and Kotelniki in the Lyubertsy district of the Moscow Region . The helicopter’s crew, test pilots of Kamov OJSC A. S. Papai and A.K.Smirnov, survived, however, they received multiple injuries and were evacuated by a Mi-8 helicopter to City Hospital No. 36 of Moscow.

But due to the lack of adequate financial support from the state, the Ka-60 helicopter was not built. Throughout the entire period of the project’s existence, the Ka-60 Kasatka helicopter has undergone various modifications several times. However, the developers failed to bring the helicopter to a given level of reliability. In the summer of 2010, the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense decided to stop financing the helicopter program. But, despite this, the Ministry of Defense of Russia in the future plans to purchase the next version of the helicopter Ka-62.