Ka-50

The Ka-50 is a heavy attack helicopter featured in both ArmA: Cold War Assault and ArmA: Armed Assault.

ArmA: Cold War Assault

Ka-50
Faction	Soviet Union
Type	Heavy Attack Helicopter
Seats	1 seat: 1× Pilot
Item capacity	Max: 3× Weapons 20× Magazines
Top speed	~ 381 km/h
Service ceiling	~ 4,000 m
Fuel capacity	1000 fuel units
Primary armament	Main: 1× Cannon 30 mm 12× AT-6 ATGM 2× 57 mm Rocket Pods
Secondary armament	None
Variants	None
Games

The Ka-50 is used exclusively by Soviet military forces in ArmA: Cold War Assault.

Overview

• Role:
  • Heavy gunship

«

The Ka-50, also nicknamed the Chernaya Akula (Black Shark) was a Soviet attack helicopter. Its NATO reporting name was Hokum. The Ka-50 was planned as a rival to the Mi-28 Havoc in a competition to provide the Soviet armed forces with a new battlefield attack helicopter. An unusual feature of the Ka-50 is that it is only operated by a single pilot. Vehicle Description

»

Design

The Ka-50 is an all-weather, heavily armoured and high-performance attack helicopter that combines survivability and firepower.

Armament
It is armed with a single, forward-facing 30 mm autocannon fixed to the right side of the fuselage. The Ka-50 also carries a mixture of air-to-ground anti-tank guided missiles along with 57 mm rocket pods on both of its stub wings.

The 30 mm cannon can interchange between firing high-explosive (HE) or armour-piercing (AP) shells, each type divided into 250-round "magazines" (500 shells in total).

The twin rocket pods each contain 20 HE rockets with a combined total of 40 rockets, while it also has up to 12 AT-6 missiles.

Features
One of the Soviet Union's most advanced helicopters, the Ka-50 is formidable aircraft that is directly comparable, if not superior, to both the Soviet military's own Mi-24 gunship and the American AH-64.

Intended to cut through swathes of enemy armour and other low-flying aircraft head on, the Ka-50 packs a diverse array of munitions to tackle both threats. The 30 mm cannon for instance, is able to switch between HE or AP munitions for use against either light armour, other helicopters, or tanks.

And if the cannon is unable destroy a target, then the Ka-50's missiles and rockets certainly will. Both stub wings carry plentiful amounts of both, and unlike the AH-64, the Ka-50 has almost double the number of ATGMs.

Ka-50 on the hunt.

Mobility
In spite of its deceptively cumbersome-looking airframe, the Ka-50 is actually one of the most agile and fastest helicopters in-game, being capable of easily reaching airspeeds of up to 381 km/h.

The Ka-50 is also unique for being the only helicopter that does not require a gunner to operate, as everything including both armament and flight is controlled by the pilot.

Drawbacks
Consequently, this does mean that the Ka-50 faces one critical drawback, namely that the pilot must concentrate on both flying the aircraft (avoiding collisions) and remaining alert for enemies. This places a lot of strain on the pilot as they are only able to engage targets that they can see, and won't have a second pair of eyes to assist in locating threats.

In addition, because the 30 mm cannon is slaved to the right side of the fuselage, it lacks a rotatable turret like the AH-64. This means that the pilot must rotate in mid-air every time in order to engage a target that it isn't already facing.

Overall, the Ka-50 is still undisputedly the most powerful helicopter in Cold War Assault in spite of this downside; not just in terms of firepower but also damage resistance and agility. It has no truly comparable peer and easily outmatches both the Mi-24/AH-64 in almost every way.

Crew Capacity
The Ka-50 only has a single seat for a single crewman; the pilot themselves who also serves as the helicopter's gunner. It is unable to transport any passengers or crew.

---

Protection

The Ka-50 has 150 points worth of armour plating.

---

Armament

The pilot controls all three weapon systems on the Ka-50:

Cannon 30 mm

Shell type	Base damage value	Initial velocity (m/s)
HE	20	1,000
AP	90	1,000

30 mm autocannon. Can load either HE or AP-type shells:

• High-Explosive (HE): Blast radius of 3 metres.
• Armour Piercing (AP): Splash radius of 1 metre.

It can attain a fire rate of ~ 333 rounds per minute and has a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s. It has an effective firing range of up to 1,500 metres.

AT-6

Damage type	Base damage value
High-Explosive Anti-Tank	750

Air-to-ground anti-tank missiles. Utilises infrared-guidance and has a maximum lock-on range of 2,000 metres.

AT-6 missiles are launched with an initial velocity of 30 m/s and take a further 5.5 seconds to reach a top in-flight speed of 200 m/s. The warhead itself has a blast radius of 2.5 metres.

57 mm Rocket

Damage type	Base damage value
High-Explosive	400

Unguided air-to-ground rockets. Strong against groups of infantry and unarmoured/lightly-armoured ground vehicles.

Rockets are always launched with an initial velocity of 44 m/s and take a further 3.5 seconds to reach a top speed of 1,000 m/s in-flight. The warheads are high-explosive (HE) based and have a blast radius of 3 metres.

---

Trivia

• The Ka-50's appearance in Cold War Assault is highly anachronistic as the first prototypes of the Ka-50, the Kamov "V-80" (which the in-game model is based on) only underwent testing in 1982, the same year that the events of the Resistance campaign unfold.
  • Furthermore, very few of the initial production models of the Ka-50 were actually made before the Soviet Union's collapse. Subsequent variants of the Ka-50 would not be accepted for service until 1995; not with the Soviet military but with its successor, the Russian Armed Forces.
• It was not actually included as part of the default set of helicopters that could be piloted in Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (the initial release name of Cold War Assault), and was only added with the release of the Resistance expansion pack.
• The Ka-50 was the first attack helicopter in the entire series to feature just a single seat for a pilot (doubling as the gunner).

---

Gallery

ArmA: Armed Assault

KA-50
Faction	SLA
Type	Heavy Attack Helicopter
Seats	1 seat: 1× Pilot
Item capacity	Max: 3× Weapons 20× Magazines
Top speed	400 km/h
Service ceiling	~ 5,000 m
Fuel capacity	1000 fuel units
Primary armament	Main: 1× 2A42 30 mm 12× VIKHR-1 ATGM
Secondary armament	Secondary: 2× 80 mm Rocket Pods
Variants	None
Games

The KA-50 is used exclusively by the SLA in ArmA: Armed Assault.

Overview

• Role:
  • Heavy gunship

«

A fine counterpoint to the AH-1 or AH-64, the Ka-50 Hokum helicopter is designed to engage armored and soft-skinned vehicles and low-altitude aerial targets. The Hokum is a very capable attack helicopter due to its high agility, survivability and powerful armament. The Ka-50 is the world’s first helicopter equipped with an emergency escape system able to safely eject the pilot in flight. Library Description

»

Design

Returning in Armed Assault, the KA-50 now serves as the primary attack helicopter of the SLA.

Armament
It is still armed with a forward-facing 30 mm autocannon as well as ATGMs and 80 mm rocket pods fitted onto the stub wings on either side of the airframe.

The 2A42 autocannon can switch between firing regular armour-piercing or high-explosive shells, though the "magazines" for both have been reduced to only 230 rounds apiece (for a combined total of 460 shells).

Up to 12 infrared-guided/SACLOS-enabled anti-tank missiles are also carried on both wings.

Its twin rocket pods on the other hand, have been upscaled to 80 mm and still contain 20 rockets per pod (fitted with HE warheads) for a combined total of 40 rockets.

Features
Heavily-armoured, the KA-50 is much more durable compared to the American AH-1Z and packs four additional ATGMs in addition to unguided rocket pods.

With a powerful main weapon (30 mm autocannon versus the AH-1Z's 20 mm Gatling), the KA-50 can easily cut through heavily armoured ground vehicles while also posing as a dangerous air-to-air threat to other attack helicopters and low-flying jets.

Mobility
Though it lacks the agility of the smaller AH-1Z, the KA-50's powerful engines can attain almost double the top speed of its American counterpart, which more than compensates for its poorer aerodynamics.

Drawbacks
As in Cold War Assault, the KA-50 is only piloted by a single crewman. This places a heavier strain on the pilot's focus, as they must be on the lookout for both ground and air threats simultaneously while operating the helicopter.

Crew Capacity
The KA-50 contains a single seat for the pilot who also functions as the helicopter's gunner. It is unable to transport any additional crewmen or passengers.

---

Protection

The KA-50 has a base armour value of 70.

Hull

The hull can withstand up to 70 points of damage.

Engine

The engine can only survive 17.5 points of damage before failing.

Instruments

The KA-50's onboard systems can only incur 10.5 points of damage.

Main rotors

The main rotors can take just 14 points of damage before breaking.

---

Armament

NOTE: For specifics on the 2A42's munitions, see its related section listed here.

2A42

30 mm autocannon. Can load either HE or AP-type shells.

It can switch between two fire modes:

• LOW: 375 RPM
• HIGH: ~ 3,157 RPM, fires 5 rounds in a single burst

Dispersion for both fire modes and munition types are identical (0.001 rad) at ranges of up to 1,400 metres.

VIKHR-1

Damage type	Base damage value
High-Explosive Anti-Tank	820

Air-to-ground anti-tank missiles. Can utilise either infrared or SACLOS guidance. Both modes have a maximum operating range of 10,000 metres (for autonomous and manual guidance).

VIKHR-1 missiles are soft launched and require 2.5 seconds to reach a top in-flight speed of 425 m/s. The warheads have a blast radius of 2 metres.

80 mm Rocket

Damage type	Base damage value
High-Explosive	210

Unguided air-to-ground rockets. Fires high-explosive (HE) rockets that are powerful against groups of infantry and unarmoured/lightly-armoured vehicles.

Rockets are always fired in pairs, with a 0.2 second delay in-between volleys. They are launched with an initial velocity of 44 m/s and only take 0.2 seconds to reach a top speed of 600 m/s in-flight. The warheads have a blast radius of 15 metres.

---

Trivia

• Initially, the proxy positions for the KA-50's missile/rocket pods were inversed and did not "launch" from the correct hardpoints i.e. a VIKHR-1 fired from the right wing would actually originate from the left wing instead. This was eventually fixed following the release of Patch 1.06.
• Just like in Cold War Assault, the Armed Assault KA-50 is still the only attack helicopter in the series thus far to feature just a single seat for the pilot.

---

Gallery

External links

• Wikipedia: Kamov Ka-50
• Wikipedia: Kamov V-80

See also

Aircraft of comparable role and configuration

• Mi-24 (Alternate Soviet counterpart)
• AH-64 (Heavy U.S. counterpart)
• Ka-52 (Russian Armed Forces successor, ArmA 2 only)

Soviet Union - Vehicles (ArmA: Cold War Assault)
Wheeled	BRDM • SCUD* • UAZ • Ural
Tracked	BMP-1 • BMP-2 • Shilka • T-72 • T-80
Rotor-wing	Ka-50 • Mi-17 • Mi-24
Fixed-wing	Sopwith F.1 Camel v2 • Su-25
Aquatic	Boat
* not actually usable outside of cutscenes.

SLA - Vehicles (ArmA: Armed Assault)
Wheeled	BRDM-2 • TT650G • UAZ • Ural
Tracked	BMP-2 • Shilka • T-72
Rotor-wing	KA-50 • Mi17
Fixed-wing	Camel • Su-34
Aquatic	PBX Boat