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

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.

 (RIA Novosti)

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Russia talks stealthy, 370mph combat helicopter

Russian Helicopters Holdings, the corporate umbrella for Kamov, Kazan, Mil and Rostvertol, told the Moscow press yesterday the company will invest $1 billion to to develop a "fifth-generation helicopter". CEO Andrei Shibitov did not provide details, such as what exactly defines a fifth-generation helicopter.

But the Ria Novosti newswire reports Konstantin Sivkov, who is identified as the "first deputy head of the Russian Academy of Geopolitical Problems", filled in some criteria: Invisible to radar, extended flying range, smart weapons, air-to-air capability and 310-370mph speed.

Sivkov also noted the "US recently began working on a similar project". I'm not sure exactly what he's referring to. The US Army is considering launching the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) program, but the requirements are not set yet. Sivkov may be referring to the Sikorsky X2 or Boeing DiscRotor.

Ria Novosti also quotes Sivkov's boss, Leonid Ivashov, explaining the aircraft could fly within five years if it receives substantial investment, or "may drag on for 20-30 years" otherwise.

Update: Flightglobal first reported about this story two years ago at the Farnborough Air Show:

The Mi-X1 is an advanced conceptual project that is looking to increase the speed of its helicopters from 300kmh up to more than 500kmh. The company says it is also looking to engineer increased flight range of up to 1,500km in order to service offshore oil-platforms or other distant or difficult-to-reach locations. Mi-X1 is a civilian export product, though a lightweight military model is likely to be produced for the Russian armed forces.

source

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Russia To Develop 5th Generation Stealth Helicopters

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.

en.rian.ru

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Osama Bin Laden Killing Mission Involved A Stealth Helicopter

RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter

A newly-developed stealth helicopter design may have been used to transport the US Navy task force that killed Osama Bin Laden at the start of May 2011, it's been suggested.

Images of part of the helicopter released over the past few days show a tail rotor layout that's unlike anything known to be in service today. Only the tail section of the secretive design is reported to now be intact, after the troops that killed Osama destroyed the helicopter, too.

Many sources now support the idea that the helicopter could have been a modified Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter, with stealth-type upgrades.

The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a widely-used helicopter design, produced in many different versions to suit the needs of various operators.

Experts believe that another classified version has been produced that incorporates a unique five or six-bladed tail rotor layout (adding one or two more blades to what's normal for the Black Hawk). This rotor is partially enclosed behind a disc shape: an arrangement that might be aimed at lowering the helicopter's acoustic signature and, so, making it stealthier.

Stealth helicopters are not presently fielded by any military operator, as far as we know, but the US did have a development programme running between 1996 and 2004. This focused on the Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche helicopter, which was an out-and-out stealth design. Among its features were radar-absorbent materials and retractable turrets while it, too, feature an enclosed tail rotor.

The secretive and unrecognisable helicopter apparently used in the operation to kill Osama was finished with a special type of paint, the experts say. This would make the helicopter less able to be picked up by infrared sensors of the type built into missile warheads. It seems likely that, mirroring its tail rotor, the mystery helicopter had five or six main rotor blades, too: more than most contemporary helicopter designs.

Less than 12 months prior to the Osama mission was carried out, Sikorsky announced plans to developed an unmanned Black Hawk variant, not as a replacement for conventional manned helicopters, but more as a complement to them. This drone Black Hawk would typically be deployed on especially dangerous operations, featuring a particularly high human casualty risk.

Meanwhile, other US military technologies are also reported to have been involved in the Osama Bin Laden operation. Potentially, these included the RQ-170 Stealth UAV, the existence of which was acknowledged by USAF officials in December 2009.

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US Desperate To Get The Wreckage Of Stealth Helicopter Back

With Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani scheduled to travel to China on 17 May for a high-profile four-day visit, Western defence officials will be searching for some indication of what Pakistan is likely to do with the stealth helicopter wreckage it retrieved following the US raid on Osama bin Laden's compound.

A senior Pakistani government official described speculation that China is seeking access to the aircraft as "mere nonsense", though he did confirm that the wreckage was still in Pakistani hands.

Two senior NATO defence officials based in Islamabad said the US is seeking the return of the wreckage to prevent it being passed onto third parties such as China. "The US is desperate to get the wreckage back," one of the officials said.

What ultimately happens to the stealth helicopter wreckage left behind by US special forces during the 1 May raid may depend largely on how the parties concerned answer a single question: 'How much is it worth?'

Some former and current US government officials have cautioned that Pakistan would have little to lose by sharing the technology with China, and that the consequences for the US would be grave if it could not immediately recover the wreckage.

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