The Kamov Ka-50 Black Shark is a single-seat Russian attack helicopter with a coaxial rotor system from the Kamov design bureau. It was designed in 1980 and adopted for service in the Russian army in 1995. It is currently produced by the Progress company in ArsenyevIt is used as an armed reconnaissance helicopter.
During the 1990s, Kamov and Israel Aerospace Industries developed a tandem-seat cockpit version, the Kamov Ka-50-2 Erdogan, to compete in the Turkish attack helicopter competition. Kamov also designed a two-seat variant, the Kamov Ka-52 Alligator (Russian: атор, NATO reporting name: law B).
The aircraft carries a large load of weapons in four external hardpoints under the stub wings plus two on the wingtips, a total of about 2,000 kg depending on the mix.
The main armament is twelve Vikhr laser-guided anti-tank missiles (transl. Vortex or whirlwind) with a maximum range of about 8 km. The Ka-50 can also carry several rockets, including S-13 and S-8 . rockets