Kamov V-80 - Survivability
One of the most important areas of work on the helicopter project was to increase its combat survivability. With this in mind, the layout was chosen, the systems were placed, the units were designed, the construction materials were worked out. The protection of the V-80 against weapons should exceed the protection of all existing combat helicopters of the world - the fourth starting position at the heart of the chosen concept. The task was facilitated by the fact that a more compact coaxial helicopter had smaller, compared with the AN-64A and Mi-28, sizes of transmission units and control wiring. He completely lacked a vulnerable tail rotor with intermediate and tail gears and control rods. The presence of only one crew member made it possible to increase his level of protection.
The measures taken to develop survivability during the development of V-80 include: - placement of engines on the sides of the fuselage, which excluded the possibility of their simultaneous failure with one shot; - the possibility of continuing the flight on one engine in a wide range of modes; - booking and shielding of the cockpit using steel and aluminum combined armor and bulletproof glass; - booking and shielding compartment of the hydraulic steering system; - shielding of more important units and helicopter systems less important; - filling the fuel tanks with polyurethane foam and their protection; - applications of composite materials ensuring the operability of power structural elements in case of damage; - creation of a double-contour design of the blade spar; - increasing the diameter of the control rods and placing a significant part of them in the armored cabin.
The ejected pilot seat, instrumentation, part of the control wiring, and elements of the aiming-flight-navigation complex were placed in a fully armored cockpit. The armor was spaced aluminum plates with a total mass of more than 300 kg. The protection with ceramic panels, as on the Mi-28, was also worked out, but after conducting full-scale experiments it was abandoned. Ceramic tiles measuring 100x100 mm or 200x200 mm provided a more effective protection with a single hit than steel armor, but not only damaged tiles scattered, but also several nearby ones, and this part of the cabin remained unprotected. Testing of protection systems was carried out in GosNIIAS.
Metal armor was introduced into the power structure of the fuselage, which allowed to slightly reduce the total weight of the machine. Subsequently, tests confirmed that the protection of the pilot is guaranteed when a series of 12.7 mm bullets and fragments of shells of caliber up to 20 mm get on board. The total weight of armor per pilot on the V-80 was 300 kg (for comparison: the same figure on the Apache American helicopter is 90 kg).
A special, fundamentally important design element of the V-80 is the ejection rescue system. According to the general designer, its necessity is dictated by the fact that the main value of a combat helicopter is an experienced pilot.
This is the first helicopter ejection system in the world created under the direction of Corr. USSR Academy of Sciences G.I. Severin in the NPO Zvezda, developing ejection systems and equipment for aviation and astronautics. Previously, elements of such a system were tested on Mi-4 and S-67 helicopters, but only the Severin team was able to fully bring the system to a healthy state. Doubts about the need for a catapult system on board the helicopter were and remain, but it is also obvious that its presence gives confidence to the pilot in a combat situation. And when you consider that army helicopters, as a rule, fly at low and extremely low altitudes, where the time for emergency exit from the machine is extremely limited, its significance can hardly be overestimated.
When creating the V-80, the task was to protect the pilot in an emergency and in other ways. Its solution was provided by: - the design of the chassis and the fuselage, capable of absorbing large loads during emergency landing of the helicopter; - the layout and design of the cockpit, which excluded the change in internal volume by more than 10-15% when it hits the ground and other units get into the cockpit when their elements are destroyed - the design of the fuel system, which excluded the possibility of a fire after an emergency rough landing of a helicopter.
The effectiveness of the combat operations of helicopter units largely depends on the operational performance of helicopters and ground handling facilities. When creating the V-80, this issue was given attention already in the early stages of design. The specialists of the Research Institute of Operation and Repair of Aviation Engineering (NIIERAT) of the Ministry of Defense took an active part in the work. When creating a helicopter maintenance system, the possibility of its autonomous basing on unprepared field sites was especially taken into account.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
