Kamov V-80 - Armament
Particular attention in the design of the helicopter was paid to the selection and constructive solution of the cannon mount. Designers of the design bureau settled on a 30-mm single-barrel gun 2A42, created by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau under the leadership of V.P. Gryazev, which was developed for armored vehicles and was used on infantry and assault vehicles. The decision to install a “tank” gun on the helicopter instead of the usual aviation gun was not initially accepted by the customer and industrial institutes (by the way, until February 1980, the option of installing the air gun was also worked out for the Mi-28 helicopter). However, Kamovtsy considered the use of the 2A42 gun in a helicopter justified. It had a two-sided supply of cartridge strip, allowing you to select the desired type of projectile (armor-piercing or high-explosive fragmentation incendiary) depending on the type of target and, therefore, more economical to use ammunition.
An effective long-range ATGM, a powerful and high-precision cannon for shooting at medium and small distances - this was the third postulate adopted in the design of V-80. The BMP cannon, which reliably works in conditions of very dusty conditions, came in handy in a helicopter, since the specifics of its combat use is firing from extremely low altitudes in dusty conditions and autonomous basing on unpaved areas with limited maintenance capabilities. The high initial velocity of the projectile (960-980 m / s) provided exceptional firing accuracy and high armor penetration (an armor-piercing projectile at a distance of 1,500 m at an angle of 60 ° to the normal pierces 15 mm steel armor). The high survivability of the barrel made it possible to shoot the entire ammunition without intermediate cooling, which in a combat situation could be crucial. With all these positive qualities, the tank gun had a significant drawback - it weighed significantly more than similar aircraft.
The designers faced the task: to place the gun on a helicopter so as to preserve its dignity - high accuracy of shooting - and compensate for the drawback. The calculations showed: in the case of placing the gun in the nose turret, the recoil during firing will have a significant effect on the helicopter, which, firstly, will require a serious strengthening of the fuselage structure and, secondly, will reduce the accuracy of shooting. It was not possible to install the gun under the fuselage, since the total height of the machine would have been unacceptably increased. It was decided to place it in the center of mass area on the starboard side between the sub-frames - in the most durable and tough fuselage spot. This arrangement reduced the impact of recoil forces on the helicopter and ensured the highest possible firing accuracy, four times the accuracy of Mi-28 helicopters with the same 2A42 gun; and three times the AN-64A with the M230 Chaingun.
The limitation of the gun deflection angle in azimuth was compensated for by the ability of the helicopter of the coaxial scheme to perform a turn with an angular speed not inferior to the speed of rotation of the weapon of existing installations in the entire range of flight speeds. Thus, it was possible to aim the gun at the target in azimuth by the helicopter body. For the cannon mount, a hydraulic follow-up drive was chosen, which, unlike the electric one used on the Mi-28, had greater speed and lower specific gravity, and also partially damped the weapon’s vibrations when firing and, due to its low power consumption, didn’t "electric network of the helicopter at work. Cartridge boxes were installed in the fuselage of the helicopter, which allowed, compared with the Mi-28, to double the ammunition load and abandon the flexible supply arms - a constant reason for delays in shooting. The consumption of shells did not lead to a change in the centering of the helicopter.
To study the effect of firing a cannon whose muzzle was near the cockpit, ground tests were urgently carried out on the helicopter design in the Instrument Design Bureau. On the existing stand for testing the 2A42 gun on the BMP, a full-scale cabin V-80 was installed. In addition to equipment for measuring pressure, vibration, and other parameters, instrumentation design bureau specialists also used "home" assessment methods: for example, they checked whether a wrench left at the edge of the dashboard would fall during firing. Tests confirmed the possibility of placing the gun next to the pilot - the cockpit glass was destroyed only after the muzzle brake of the gun was literally pressed against it.
In addition to ATGMs and guns, the customer wished to place a number of weapon systems on the helicopter. We must pay tribute to the General Designer, who immediately categorically rejected the requirements to establish "anti-guerrilla" types of weapons - such as machine-gun unified helicopter gondolas, quite effective when firing at manpower, but extremely labor-consuming to maintain. Mikheev believed that an expensive combat helicopter in a war should have worthy goals: tanks, field fortifications, air defense systems, enemy helicopters, and cheaper machines, such as the Mi-8, can take on the task of finding and destroying small manpower groups. The range of weapons was expanded to include unguided missile weapons, guided air-to-surface missiles, cannon containers UPK-23-250, air bombs, etc.
It should be noted that, although the tactical and technical task of conducting helicopter air combat was not provided, in the Kamov Design Bureau such an opportunity was taken into account from the very beginning of the design. A semi-natural stand was created at the GosNIIAS, on which a Ka-50 aerial combat with a helicopter and enemy aircraft was simulated. In addition to the Kamov test pilots E.I. Laryushina and G.N. Shishkin, pilots of the OKB P.O.Sukhoi.
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