The Ka-29 helicopter is a multi-functional ship-based aircraft. Its main purpose is to support airborne units, as well as the destruction of ground and surface targets. Additionally, the machine is capable of transporting manpower and special loads. Rotorcraft are located on the BDK (up to four copies). Consider the characteristics, features of the aircraft, as well as the fact of one accident.
Short description
The Ka-29 combat helicopter is equipped with a sighting and sighting system; on the external suspension there are four holders for cylinders responsible for firing. In the transport version, the aircraft was equipped with weapons in the form of a machine gun with a caliber of 7.62 mm. The store had a capacity of 1800 ammunition. The combat analogue provides for the additional installation of several types of guns. Among them:
- Anti-tank missiles "Storm" (up to eight pieces).
- Uncontrolled aircraft warheads of the S-80 type (up to 80 pieces).
- 23 mm cannon mounts.
- 30 mm 2A42 anti-aircraft guns.
It is worth noting that navigation, flight and support systems allow the use of the Ka-29 helicopter at any time of the day or night, regardless of weather conditions.
History of creation
The leadership of the Navy of the USSR in the 70s of the last century there was a need to strengthen the combat potential. In this regard, it was decided to design a helicopter of widespread use. The design bureau headed by S. Fomin started developing the machine. Among the representatives of the heads of the Ka-29 helicopter team:
- Deputy The main developer G. Danilochkin.
- Assistant S. Mikheev.
- Tester E. Laryushin.
Documented, the tool under consideration passed as a project under the number 502. The anti-submarine version of the Ka-27 type was taken as the basis for the machine. The first flight of the prototype was carried out in 1976. They entered the serial production of the car at the end of 1979. Production base - Kumertau Aviation Plant. Preliminary state tests were carried out. The specified model is in service with the Russian fleet to the present.
Modifications and modernization of the Ka-29 marine helicopter
Among the models created on the basis of the aircraft in question, the following versions are distinguished:
- Prototype Ka-252TB.
- Target designator Ka-29 VPNTSU.
- Serial Ka-29 multipurpose transport and combat helicopter.
- Modification for reconnaissance AWACS - Ka-31.
The modernization of the machines in question began actively in 2012. The process included equipping the devices with modern weapons and electronic protection equipment. At the end of 2016, overhaul of six Ka-29s received at the Pacific Fleet ended. The updated rotorcraft units received improved rotor columns, new engines, gearboxes, modern paintwork.
The next batch of six units underwent a scheduled overhaul at the Kumertau Plant in November 2017. Updated Soviet Ka-29 helicopters arrived at the naval aviation base in the Primorsky Territory (Pacific Fleet Nikolaevka). Another group of advanced models was commissioned at the Don airport of the Kaliningrad region, after rehabilitation at the 150th repair plant.
Technical characteristics of the Ka-29 helicopter
Among analogues, the domestic machine has several advantages. Basic information about the aircraft in question:
- operational input - 08.08.1987;
- mass production - 1984-1991;
- crew size - 3 people;
- the number of units produced - 59;
- capacity — 16 paratroopers with weapons, 10 wounded soldiers (up to four patients on a stretcher);
- fuselage length / width - 1225/3800 mm;
- the size of the rotors - 1590 mm;
- height - 5440 mm;
- normal / maximum weight in working position - 11.0 / 18.5 t.
The engines of this model have a capacity of 2250 horsepower on each of a pair of motors. Type of engines - TVAD TV-3 117V. The cruising speed of the helicopter is 235 km / h, with a maximum in horizontal ascent - 280 km / h. The maximum climb rate is 15.5 m / s, operational overload is 2.3 G. The practical range of the aircraft is 460-740 km, and the dynamic ceiling is 3.7 km.
Armament
Among the combat equipment of many modifications, the following types of guns are noted:
- Built-in machine gun caliber 7.62 (9-A-622). It is housed in a moving part with an axial reserve of 1800 rounds.
- Additional equipment - a pair of universal guns UP-23-250, GSh gun with ammunition for 250 shells.
- Four pendant points used to place guided missiles such as Cocoon, Sturm, and Attack.
- Bomb equipment - two sets of 3B-500 type.
Distribution
As of 2017, the Ukrainian Navy had four units of the machine in question. Five vehicles were in service with the 555th Research Instructor Regiment. This combat unit belonged to the anti-submarine aviation regiment in Ochakovo. One unit was purchased from Ukraine in 2011 by the government of Equatorial Guinea.
The aircraft with tail number 14 is in service with the 72nd BF aviation squadron, located at the Donskoy airfield in the Kaliningrad Region. This is the first Soviet rotorcraft that is capable of performing a flat turn on the entire speed range. The technique quickly takes the necessary position for the attack, while maintaining optimal accuracy when aiming. Other performance characteristics also show a high level.
Control
The accuracy of the Ka-29 helicopter is carried out by translating the control stick using automatic warps. They are interconnected by means of traction and constantly changing angles of the blades. As a result, a common vector of aerodynamic forces of a pair of screws is provided, deviating in the required direction by the desired value. The symmetry of aerodynamics is guaranteed by the balance of reactive influences and the absence of a rudder screw.
The Ka-29 helicopter, whose history continues to this day, has the ability to create different torques thanks to the pedal deflection with differential movement of the pitch of the upper and lower propellers. The mechanism helps the mounting angles of the blades to grow on one screw, while reducing power on the second propeller. In this case, the total thrust does not change.
Symmetric aircraft in the aerodynamic direction when performing combat maneuvers in a hovering or moving position does not require wind or other weather features. This ability has a positive effect on the take-off or landing from the deck of a moving aircraft carrier.
Crashes
A Ka-29 helicopter crashed over the Baltic Sea on the night of April 12-13, 2018, at about 11.30 p.m. Moscow time. A team of two test pilots died. A search operation was carried out at the scene, the bodies of the dead were found soon (in a day). On the night of April 13, the wind force at the crash site did not exceed 112 m / s, the wave height was more than one meter.
The observer of the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda (military specialist) V. Baranets said that before processing all the documents and data, it would not be possible to name the exact cause of the accident. It is possible that in a storm, the car could land on the landing deck, but an emergency happened.
Specialists will understand why exercises were conducted during the storm, how experienced the crew were. It is worth considering that people are trained in military affairs in conditions as close as possible to combat realities. Indeed, in a war, the enemy will not let calmly wait out the storm. However, something went wrong.
Recent Crash Facts
The Ka-29 helicopter honed the landing and take-off on the deck of the Ivan Gren landing ship. An informed source said that the ship’s crew was on state tests, was guided by the reception of a combat rotorcraft on board. During the next test, the helicopter crashed, while the ship was not damaged.
The aircraft crashed six kilometers from Cape Taran. There is evidence that the depth of the sea at the crash site was about ten meters. A criminal case has been instituted on the fact of the crash and death of two pilots under article 315 of the Russian Criminal Code “violation of flight rules and preparation for them”.
The ship "Ivan Gren" was built by shipbuilders from Kaliningrad in 2012. According to representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the BDK has the ability to transport about 300 paratroopers, 13 tanks or 36 armored personnel carriers. A deck for a search and rescue helicopter or a transport analogue of the Ka-29 is provided on the deck. The armament of a floating vehicle includes automatic guns with a caliber of 30 millimeters.