러시아의 5세대 스텔스 공격헬기 개발 소식...

 

러시아가 5세대 스텔스 공격헬기를 개발할 계획이라는 RIA Novosti 의 기사를 소개합니다. 기사에 의하면 러시아의 양대

회전익 제작사 Mil 과 Kamov 공동으로 스텔스 공격헬기를 개발한다는 내용입니다.

 

그러나 최소 10억불 이상의 개발비가 필요할 것으로 예상하는 가운데, 러시아 정부의 최종 승인 및 개발비 지원이 따라야

한다는 내용입니다.

 

2008년 영국 Farnborough Air Show 를 통해 항속거리 약 1,500 km, 시속 300~500 km/h 급의 Mi-X1 과 Ka-92 개념기를

Mil 과 Kamov 가 각각 소개한 바 있으므로, 그동안 초보적인 설계는 어느 정도 마친 것으로 판단됩니다.

 

과연 막대한 개발비를 러시아 정부가 지원을 할지 궁금해 집니다.

 

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Russia plans to develop 5th-generation 'stealth' helicopters

18:36, 13/05/2010

 

A Russian helicopter company is planning to develop the world's first fifth-generation combat helicopter, which experts say would be able to attack fighter jets and be invisible for radars, the Gazeta daily said on Thursday.

 

"We are working on the concept of the fifth-generation combat helicopter," the paper quoted the company's CEO, Andrei Shibitov, as saying at a news conference in Moscow.

 

Shibitov did not specify the characteristics of the helicopter, but said the company was going to spend some $1 billion on the project, with more investment expected to be allocated from the state budget.

 

The official said the Mil design bureau had been working on a classical rotor model, which features a large main rotor and a smaller auxiliary rotor, while the Kamov design bureau had been developing a coaxial rotor model.

 

Military experts believe that the coaxial rotor model is more stable and easy to fly while the classical model is more reliable and has a higher degree of survivability on the battlefield.

 

First deputy head of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Issues, Konstantin Sivkov, told the paper that fifth-generation combat helicopters have never been built before, although the United States has recently begun working on a similar project.

 

He said a fifth-generation combat helicopter must have a low radar signature, a high noise reduction, an extended flying range, be equipped with a computerized arms control system, be able to combat fighter jets (existing helicopters are generally only intended to hit ground-based targets) and reach a speed of up to 500-600 km/h (310-370 mph).

 

The project cannot proceed, however, unless it is backed by the government.

 

"If the government does not sign a contract, the idea will die on the vine," head of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Issues Leonid Ivashov told Gazeta.

 

Ivashov said that with sufficient investment and good organization the new helicopter could be built within five years. Otherwise, the project may drag on for 20-30 years.

 

But he was somewhat skeptical about the chances of carrying out the project.

 

"We have been trying to tackle everything - fifth-generation planes, fifth-generation helicopters, but nothing of this have so far been supplied to the army - today the army still uses helicopters produced in 1970s," Ivashov said.

 

Russia's main combat helicopter, the Mi-24 Hind, is a third-generation helicopter, and a few Mi-28 Havoc, Ka-50 and Ka-52 Hokum, which have just started to arrive in the Russian army, are fourth-generation helicopters.

 

MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti)