russian_helicopter_industry_2010

industry | news

EXPERIENCE & INNOVATION

Welcome to Hall 1, Russian Pavilion, D-17 at Farnborough 2010, 19-25 July

www.take-off.ru

take-off july 2010

11

industry | interview Late in June, the Mil Helicopter Plant held a mock-up review of an upgraded helicopter design given the in-house designation Mi-171M. It is symbolical that the actual kick-off of the programme on the upgrade of a most popular medium helicopter in the world took place on the verge of an anniversary: 35 years since the maiden flight of the Mi-8MT, later designated as Mi-17, will be marked in August 2010. The Mi-8/17 is the world’s most widespread Russianbuilt helicopter produced by two manufacturers – the Kazan Helicopters (Mi-8MTV-1, Mi-8MTV-5, Mi-17-1V, Mi-17V-5, Mi-172) and Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (Mi-8AMT, Mi-171). We asked Mil’s Designer General Alexey Samusenko to shed light on the key approaches to upgrading the machine.

The current upgrade of the truly worldfamous Mi-8 helicopter family was announced as far back as last year, during the HeliRussia 2009 helicopter show. What is the status of the programme now?

Indeed, we began to devise a programme on a heavy upgrade of the Mi-8 family’s helicopters last year, having been given the green light by the Russian Helicopters holding company. We believe the time has come for a radical improvement of the characteristics of the helicopter. To date, the development of an upgraded Mi-8 variant is high on the priority list of the prime developer of Mil helicopters, the Mil Helicopter Plant.

We stake on the baseline Mi-171, whose upgraded version has been dubbed Mi-171M tentatively and will be re-designated as Mi-171A2 once it has been certificated. The first Mi-171M prototype is to be made by the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant in 2011. We expect the development work, tests and certification of the new helicopter to be completed prior to late 2012, with the Ulan-Ude plant to launch its full-scale production in 2013.

Now, the engineering and performance specification have been devised under the upgrade programme. A mock-up review has been held recently to consider the preliminary design of the future machine. The programme is planned to be phased, and virtually all of the helicopter’s components to be upgraded in the end.

What will be features of the upgraded helicopter?

The new helicopter will feature cutting-edge design solutions refined on the Mi-28N and Mi-38 helicopters. Overall, the Mi-8 upgrade is aimed at enhancing the aircraft’s technical and economic characteristics and expanding its operating envelope. Over 80 innovations are to be introduced to the machine.

As to the key upgrade approaches, the airframe dimensions is to increase, the

12

take-off july 2010

Mi-171M new life of venerable helicopter

rotor system is to be modernised through introducing composite rotor blades and modified main rotor hub. In addition, the advanced X-shaped tail rotor is going to be made of composites too.

The Mi-171M’s powerplant will comprise two VK-2500 engines rated 2,400 hp at take-off and 2,700 hp in emergency power conditions. The TA-14 or Czech-made Safir will serve as the auxiliary power unit. The main reduction gearbox is slated for testing for the ability to operate for 30 min without lubricants and to transfer 2,400 hp from a single engine. The air intakes will be fitted with more efficient dust filters featuring an air purification degree of 95%.

An advanced, more streamlined cockpit transparency is to be introduced. The upgrade also will cover the hydraulic and power supply systems and other helicopter equipment. The fuel tanks will be modified and the fuel system capacity will increase

up to 3,400 litres, with the supply tank and combustion units under the cabin floor to be discarded.

The improvements will extend the maximal range to 1,200 km and enable the helicopter to fly at a cruising speed of 265 km/h, with its maximal speed to be 280 km/h. The machine’s static ceiling is to account for 4,000 m and the service ceiling for 6,000 m. The -50/+50°C operating temperature bracket will enable the helicopter to operate in various climes. The machine will be maintained on-condition, with the service life of the basic units to grow up to 12,000 h, time between overhauls up to 3,000 h and the helicopter’s service life up to 30 years.

Composites have been introduced to aircraft on an ever-increasing scale of late. You have mentioned that the blades of the main and tail rotors would be made of them. What is the share of composites in the new machine going to be? www.take-off.ru

industry | interview

As you realise, any aircraft requires a reasonable combination of structural weight and structural strength to ensure its sortie rate. The art of designer consists in optimising these parameters. However, this cat won’t jump unless advanced materials, sophisticated calculation techniques and cutting-edge design solutions are used. Time dictates its rules.

For this very reason, priority is given to composites during aircraft development, and the Mil Helicopter Plant applies such innovations on a large scale. Back to your question. We estimate the upgraded Mi-8 to comprise a total of 20–30% of composite parts and units.

How will the upgrade influence the machine’s lifting capacity?

The basic weight characteristics of the upgraded helicopter will remain the same, namely: the normal take-off weight will remain 11 t and the maximum take-off weight will be 13 t with the weight of under-slung cargo standing at 5 t. However, we have plans to increase the payload volume of the cabin and develop two variants of the rear section of

www.take-off.ru

the cabin. One will have a clamshell doors and the other a loading ramp. The customer will decide which he prefers.

In addition, the cargo cabin will be able to be converted to the passenger one, in which case it will seat 21 passengers.

Would you tell our readers about the planned upgrade of the avionics suite? Will the upgraded helicopter differ from its predecessors radically in this respect?

I would like to stress that we are going to fit the machine with a drastically novel avionics suite, the so-called glass cockpit, and introduce automatic monitoring of the systems’ parameters, which will reduce flight planning time and the in-flight workload on the crew. Automated controls and up-to-date navaids and comms will allow a crewmember reduction from three to two, with the Mi-171M to be flown by two pilots. The flight mechanic will remain as a crewmember but will no longer be part of the aircraft control loop.

Owing to the above, the cockpit layout will be modified as far as the controls of the systems are concerned. The latter

will become more accessible and easier to use. The LCDs used in the glass cockpit offers huge opportunities for displaying any information – graphics, video, etc. Such displays are both reliable and have virtually an unlimited service life and a far lighter weight compared with electromechanical instruments.

Overall, I would like to emphasise that the introduction of the PKV-171 digital flight control system and multifunction avionics will meet the latest standards.

Are a weather radar and night vision systems going to be introduced?

Yes, we are going to fit the upgraded helicopter with a weather radar as well as a surveillance station and a night vision system.

Whom do you see as the launch customer for the upgraded helicopter? The Defence Ministry?

No, we work on a commercial machine so far. However, a version of the Mi-171M may be of interest, say, to the Russian Emergencies Ministry and Ministry of Interior, in which case we would fit the machine with relevant gear.

take-off july 2010

13

industry | interview

Russian Helicopters

Korshun

14

take-off july 2010

unmanned helicopter development being in full swing in some other countries as well.

Development of an aircraft as an unmanned system platform is easy to Russian Helicopters in technical terms. The principal problem is to get reliable automatic control system and develop its operating algorithms.

It is this technical task that is high on our priority list. It also is important to ensure reconfiguration of the control system in case of a failure and backing it up as well.

What is going to be done in the coming two to three years specifically?

The Russian Helicopters joint stock company is ready to launch development of several unmanned helicopter systems next year, if there are relevant orders, on which we count very much. The company has launched a research programme of its own, dubbed Outlining the technical characteristics of a

UNMANNED RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS

Ka-117 (left) and Ka-135

Russian Helicopters

In recent years, the Russian Helicopters joint stock company has repeatedly displayed at international shows various helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicles ranging from light to heavy ones. Models of the future Mi-34BP heavy unmanned helicopter (a derivative of the Mi-34S1), MRVK future robotised helicopter system based on the technical solutions embodied in the future Mi-X1 high-speed helicopter, and several designs from the Kamov company, including the Ka-37 and Ka-137 developed as far back as the ‘90s were exhibited many times.

This month full-size mock-ups of the future helicopter-type UAVs – the Ka-135 and Korshun – were unveiled during the Unmanned Multipurpose Vehicle Systems 2010 show held as part of the Machinebuilding Technologies 2010 forum from 30 June to 4 July this year. These are two of the four basic helicopter-type UAVs that are high on the priority list of Russian Helicopters company. On the eve of the show, Take-off Editor Yevgeny Yerokhin met Gennady Bebeshko, Unmanned Helicopter Systems programme manager of the Russian Helicopters JSC, and asked him to elaborate on the status of the helicopter-type UAV development in Russia and the plans of the Russian Helicopters in this field.

What is your view of the state of affairs in helicopter-type UAV development as a whole and what urgent tasks are facing the Russian Helicopters joint stock company in this sphere?

Helicopter-type UAV development is a new line of work in the UAV field, which has been evolving fast over the past 5 to 10 years. Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) systems used lag behind aeroplane-type UAVs due to their greater complexity and problems with automatic control system development. Several countries have resolved those problems and been working hard on developing VTOL UAVs. Some US and European programmes have produced good results (Boeing’s YMQ-18 Hummingbird, an unmanned variant of the Kaman K-Max helicopter, Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout, Schiebel S-100 Camcopter, etc.), with

medium-range unmanned helicopter system.

The programme provides for development of a prototype system ensuring the automatic operating mode for the unmanned helicopter under a preset programme. The research programme is designed to hash out the characteristics of the automatic control system exercising automatic control throughout the flight, including creation of a mathematical model and control algorithms and an operating prototype as well.

The Patrul light helicopter developed in the city of Kumertau has been selected as the baseline platform for the flying testwww.take-off.ru

industry | interview Kamov Ka-135 short-range UAV developed in 300 kg class which full-scale mockup was unveiled at UVS Tech 2010 exhibition in late June 2010

Yevgeny Yerokhin

Yevgeny Yerokhin

bed designed to test the automatic control system, ground control system and mission payload. The Russian Helicopters holding company pays for the work out of pocket.

The preparations are being completed, and plans are being coordinated with the subcontractors selected.

Unfortunately, non-military organisations are in no rush to finance the development but are ready to buy ready UAVs once they have been developed.

When the efforts go into the R&D stage, Russian Helicopters is to select subcontractors operating in the fields of

Medium-range 500kg-class Korshun UAV derived in Kumertau from Patrul light helicopter also debuted in a form of full-scale mockup at UVS Tech 2010 exhibition in late June 2010

engine, instrument, radio-technical, radar and composites development to tackle all aspects of the unmanned helicopter system development.

What is the current VTOL UAV line from Russian Helicopters made of? What programmes are priorities?

The Russian Helicopters company has limited itself to four baseline types of aircraft intended to ensure a competitive offer on the global market. Since the work is underway for uniformed services in the first place and based on analysis, nature and peculiarities of the missions to be handled by VTOL UAVs, the future family will comprise advanced systems designed for recce, attack, transport, relay and special-purpose missions.

The short-range VTOL UAV class will be represented by the 300-kg Ka-135 unmanned helicopter system with a range of 100 km. It is going to be a cutting-edge coaxial-rotor piston-engine UAV with a ski-type landing gear. www.take-off.ru

Two aircraft are being considered for the medium-range VTOL UAV niche. One is the Korshun, a Patrul helicopter derivative weighing 500 kg and having the 300 km range and 100 kg payload. The other is a heavier Ka-117 with a flight weight of 1,500 kg, a payload of 500 kg and a range of 400–500 km. It will be a multirole unmanned helicopter system capable of a wide range of tactical missions.

The basic long-range aircraft will be the Ka-126BV – an unmanned singleengine derivative of the Ka-226 helicopter, weighing 3,500 kg and operating out to 1,000 km.

All of these UAVs will be dual-purpose and capable of as many diverse missions as possible. There are to be three or four detachable modular payloads. The design modularity of the baseline VTOL UAVs and detachable payloads, coupled with automated pre-flight preparation gear, minimises such important characteristics

as assembly of the UAV from the travelling configuration to the operational one, preflight preparation time and time between flights.

What about the Mi-34BP, MRVK and other designs displayed at air shows?

You also have not mentioned short-range lightweight VTOL UAVs. We can offer various unmanned helicopters, including those that has not been part of the VTOL UAV family yet, those to feature characteristics requested by the customer. However, to reduce development risks, costs and time, it makes sense to develop unmanned helicopters being based on the existing manned helicopters.

As for short-range VTOL UAVs able to fly out to 25 km, we deem it impractical to develop them now, because battlefield and tactical-level recce missions can be accomplished by aeroplane-configuration UAVs in a more effective and cheaper manner. take-off july 2010

15

military aviation | news

Victor Drushlyakov

Production-standard Ka-52 undergo trials

16

take-off july 2010

Ka-52 combat aircraft and Ansat-U trainer. The committee resolved that the Ka-52 prototypes had passed another stage of its official trials.

This allowed the tentative conclusion recommending the manufacturing of a low-rate initial production batch to be issued.

In January last year, Progress company Director General Yuri Denisenko said three more Ka-52s of the LRIP batch were being assembled at the moment and slated for delivery before the end of the year. “We need to obtain a positive conclusion as to the Ka-52’s official trials and launch full-scale production in late 2009”, Denisenko said then. He had said earlier that an agreement had been reached on delivery of a total of

approx 30 Ka-52s to the Russian Defence Ministry.

Progress built 10 helicopters for the Russian Defence Ministry in 2009, according to the 1 March 2010 official report by the Russian Helicopters JSC on the results produced by the Russian helicopter-making industry in 2009. Apparently, three of them are the above-mentioned early production Ka-52s. In all probability, the remaining seven machines are the Ka-52s that were being completed and tested in Arsenyev.

Far Eastern news agency PrimaMedia reported in February this year that the manufacturer’s plan for 2010 made provision for building seven Ka-52s, because “the company made a commitment

to deliver about 25 Ka-52 Alligator helicopters to the Russian Army.

The aircraft maker’s gain from selling seven helicopters and Moskit antiship missiles in 2010 alone is to account for 8 billion rubles (over $250 million)”.

The Ka-52 also features good exportability. The RIA Novosti news agency has quoted the Progress plant’s Director General as saying that three foreign countries had ordered the Ka-52. For example, according to the media, the acquisition of Ka-52 helicopters was high on the agenda during Libyan Defence Minister AbuBaqr Younis Jaber’s visit to Russia in late January 2010. Early deals on exporting the Ka-52 might be clinched before year-end.

Victor Drushlyakov

Production-standard machines joined the official test programme of the Kamov Ka-52 advanced multirole combat helicopter this spring. The first three of them serialled 51, 52 and 53 were built by the Progress aircraft company in Arsenyev last year and, following debugging and ground tests

by Kamov out of Moscow, were ferried in March to the Russian Air Force’s Army Aviation Combat and Conversion Training Centre (CCTC) in Torzhok for further tests. The machines were used in the preparations for the Victory Day parade, and one of them, No 53, flew over Red Square in Moscow on 9 May 2010 along with a pre-production Ka-52 (No. 063).

Three prototype and preproduction machines have been involved in the Ka-52 official test programme until recently. The first flying prototype (serial 061) was built by Kamov as far back as 1996 and then has undergone several phases of upgrade. The second prototype Ka-52 serialled 062 was made by Progress two years ago and flew its maiden sortie on 27 June 2008. The preproduction machine (serial 063) took off in Arsenyev in October 2008.

On 26 December 2008, the Flight Test Complex of the Russian Helicopters joint stock company in Chkalovsky, Moscow Region, hosted the final phase of the enlarged meeting of the governmental committee considering the outcome of the official trials of the advanced Mi-28N and

www.take-off.ru

military aviation | news

Mi-28 fielding under way Mi-28Ns that could be fielded with line units in the coming years. The Armed Forces requirements in the Mi-28N are estimated at 300 aircraft.

In addition, talks with a number of foreign countries are under way.

Experts name Algeria and Venezuela as the most probable foreign launch customers for Mi-28NE helicopters.

By the way Mi-28NE is now taking part in a tender for 22 combat helicopters announced by Indian ministry of Defence.

At the same time with productionising the Mi-28N, a further upgrade programme of the helicopter has been launched in support of both the domestic customer and potential foreign buyers. Under the programme, the machine will be fitted with more effective cutting-edge avionics and weapons.

Alexey Mikheyev

A most important result produced last year by Russian combat helicopter makers is the kick-off of the deliveries of production-standard Mil Mi-28N helicopters to the Russian Defence Ministry.

According to the defence minister’s spokesman talking to the media about Anatoly Serdyukov’s visit to the Rostvertol joint stock company late last year, the company made and delivered 10 production-standard Mi-28N helicopters to the Russian Air Force in 2009. Last spring, the first six of them entered the inventory of the independent helicopter regiment (now dubbed air base) in Budyonnovsk, with four more machines following suit a bit later (the side numbers of the ten ranged from 01 to 10).

According to the Kommersant daily, RusAF ordered almost 50

18

take-off july 2010

than in a month, on 13 March, the Yak-130 (side number 92) followed suit, as the lead production aircraft (side number 90) did later. In April, the plant delivered the third aircraft with side number 93. As Sokol Director General Alexander Karezin told in late May, the plant was to execute the whole of launch order on delivery of 12 aircraft before the end of November this year.

Along with Sokol producing the Yak-130 for the Russian Air Force, the Irkut corporation’s Irkutsk Aircraft Plant continues the full-rate production of aircraft of the type for the Algerian Air Force. The first Yak-130 under the Algerian contract for 16 aircraft was built in Irkutsk

in August 2009. Irkut plans to start deliveries to Algeria this year and finish it next year. In addition, it became known in February that the Irkut corporation had landed

another export contract for six Yak130s for the Libyan Air Force. The first two of them are expected to be sent there in 2011, with the four remaining in 2012.

Yevgeny Yerokhin

The advanced Yakovlev Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft made its debut at the Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9 May 2010. The Russian Air Force recently started receiving the aircraft of the type.

Four Yak-130s jointly flew over Red Square in a parade air formation with an Il-78M aerial tanker and two Su-24M tactical bombers.

As is known, under the launch order of the Russian Defence Ministry for 12 aircraft, the first productionstandard Yak-130 (side number 90) was produced by the Sokol aircraftbuilding plant in Nizhny Novgorod last year and performed its maiden flight on 19 May 2009. It was handed over to the Russian Air Force in late July, actually still undergoing a special test program.

Before the New Year, Sokol had assembled two more production aircraft and almost finished the work on the fourth one. Delivery to the Air Force started in February. The Yak-130 serialled 91 was the first aircraft of the type to be handed over to the Lipetsk-based Combat and Conversion Training Centre (CCTC) of the Russian Air Force. On 18 February, it was ferried to Lipetsk and received officially there. Less

Alexey Mikheyev

Air Force receives Yak-130s

www.take-off.ru