Kamov V-80 combat helicopter
In December 1976, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution on the development of a new generation of combat helicopters, which provided for the creation of UVZ imeni N.I.Kamov and the OKB M.L.Mil on a competitive basis for experimental samples and further comparative tests. Designing a new army combat vehicle, designated V-80, began in January 1977. characterized by a high degree of novelty of the accepted scientific and technical solutions. Unfortunately, the development was not destined to be embodied in metal.
The main objective of a combat helicopter is the destruction of military equipment, primarily tanks, on the battlefield and in the near frontline. A helicopter is blind. He "sees" very poorly. Moreover, he is shortsighted. It is very difficult to get a complete picture of the battlefield, especially if the crew is busy with something else.
The simulation results showed that with an autonomous search for targets associated with a prolonged stay in the zone of intense fire counteraction by enemy air defense systems, the chances of a Mi-24 helicopter to survive and complete a combat mission are practically null. Only helicopters combined with a target designation system that receive information about the enemy from aircraft and ground reconnaissance systems can operate effectively under these conditions. Consequently, the new combat helicopter was supposed to have an external target designation system on board, which would enable it to become a strike element of an air-ground reconnaissance-strike complex. In the absence of external target designation, a successful attack of ground targets can also be carried out with lines located outside the effective air defense defeat zone. Thus, the main one of the postulates defining the concept of the project was realized - the pilot must know the situation on the battlefield and selectively “work according to goals,” destroying what needs to be destroyed at the given moment.
When determining the appearance of the new machine, various aerodynamic schemes of helicopters were studied: transverse, rotorcraft scheme and, of course, coaxial. The single-rotor scheme was not considered as an alternative at all because of the low combat survivability: the experience of local wars showed that a significant part of the helicopter combat losses was caused by damage to the tail rotors, loaded tail beams, long control wires and complex transmissions.
The transverse and rotorcraft designs were declared unacceptable due to unsatisfactory weight and size characteristics. Designers opted for a "proprietary" design bureau for coaxial design. It has undoubted advantages in comparison with the traditional scheme with a tail rotor. The absence of power losses on the tail rotor (10 ... 12%), as well as a higher efficiency (15%) of coaxial rotors at flight speeds of up to 100 km / h with equal engine power allow higher thrust (30%) carrier system. This increases the static ceiling by 1000 m and doubles the speed of vertical climb. It is these speeds and extremely low flight altitudes that underlie the tactics of modern combat helicopters when attacking ground targets due to obstacles, shelters and ambushes. Consequently, A coaxial-type combat helicopter will significantly surpass competitors of a single-rotor scheme with a tail rotor, especially in mountainous areas and at high air temperatures.
Aerodynamic symmetry and the absence of cross-connections in the control channels simplify piloting, which is especially important when flying at low altitude near obstacles behind which the helicopter hides in battle. Such a machine has a significantly wider range of sliding angles, angular velocities and accelerations in the entire range of flight speeds. The relatively small moments of inertia resulting from the compactness of the coaxial helicopters provide efficient control. Due to its small size, the coaxial helicopter has less radar and visual visibility. especially in mountainous areas and at high air temperatures.
One of the main components of aviation combat systems is electronic equipment and weapons systems. Due to increased requirements to it due to harsh operating conditions, as well as some imperfections in the hardware base, domestic equipment has a larger mass than similar American equipment. Already the first calculations showed: if you place a complex of equipment that is close in composition to that installed on American military vehicles, then the mass of the helicopter will increase so much that achieving high flight performance will become very difficult. A truly revolutionary solution should have contributed to the facilitation of the helicopter, and, consequently, to the achievement of higher flight performance: the navigator-operator with all his means of protection and life support was excluded from the crew.
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