Ka-50 “Hokum“

The Kamov Ka-50 “Hokum“ is a single-seat Russian attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the Kamov design bureau. The Ka-50 was designed to be small, fast, and agile to improve survivability and lethality. For minimal weight and size (thus maximal speed and agility) it is unique among gunships -- to be operated by a single pilot only. The aircraft carries a substantial load of weapons in four external hardpoints. The main armament are the twelve laser-guided ’Vikhr’ anti-tank missiles with a maximum range of some 8km (). The laser guidance of the Ka-50 is virtually jam-proof and the system features automatic guidance to target enabling evasive movement immediately after missile launch. The fire control system automatically shares all target information among the four Black Sharks of a typical flight in real time, allowing one helicopter to engage a target spotted by another, and the system also can input target information from ground-based forward s