Military & Aerospace

Will the Kamov Ka 226T meet India’s Requirements?
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Issue Vol. 32.1 Jan-Mar 2017 | Date : 18 Apr , 2017

Ka-226T multi-role Helicopter

Characteristics of the Ka 226T

The Chetak is a 2.2 tonne All Up Weight (AUW) helicopter while the Cheetah’s AUW is just 1.95 tonne. The Cheetah can carry three passengers and the Chetak can carry five, in addition to a crew of two. The Cheetal (Cheetah with a Shakti aero-engine) was introduced to augment the Cheetah fleet for Op Meghdoot and has the same AUW as the Cheetah, but its better load carrying capability and reliability at high altitudes, have encouraged the IAF to order a small number, reportedly 20, for its fleet. With a maximum AUW of 5.5 tonne, the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) lies just on the borderline between ‘light’ and ‘medium’. It can carry 14 passengers besides the crew. Series production of Dhruv ALH started in 2001 and it has a twin-engine safety to offer while the Chetak/Cheetah/Cheetal family are single engine designs.

HAL is developing the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) which is a single engine design in the three-tonne AUW class…

Meanwhile, HAL is developing the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) which is a single engine design in the three-tonne AUW class with a glass cockpit and capable of flying at 220 kmph with a service ceiling of 6.5 km and a range of 350 km with 500 kg payload. HAL’s intent behind this design was to replace the fleet of Chetak/Cheetah helicopters with all the four user services. Its design and AUW characteristics are closer to the Chetak/Cheetah family as compared to the Dhruv which is a heavier machine.

The Ka 226T was designed by the Kamov Design Bureau, part of the Russian Helicopters company and was introduced in 2001 as a multi-purpose helicopter. It is now serially manufactured at (Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise KumAPP). The Ka 226T is a light, twin-engine, multi-role, utility helicopter offered by Russian Helicopters with a coaxial, contra-rotating main rotor design which permits compact dimensions. An incongruous feature is that its 580 HP, FADEC-equipped Arrius engines are from the French power plant producer Turbomeca (SAFRAN). It has an AUW of 3.6 tonne with internal load and 3.8 tonne with under-slung load and can carry seven passengers or up to 1.05 tonne of cargo in cabin or 1.1 tonne under-slung.

The helicopter can fly at a maximum speed of 250 kmph and cruise speed of 220 kmph. It has a maximum flight range of 600 km with main fuel tanks. The operational and hover Out of Ground Effect (OGE) ceilings of the helicopter are 6.1 km and 4.6 km respectively. The Ka 226T model is fitted with updated navigation and automatic control equipment, as well as an interchangeable mission pod, which allows for flexible equipment configurations. It is currently in service with the Russian Air Force and performs surveillance, reconnaissance, search and rescue, targeting, and transportation of cargo and troops. It can operate in temperatures ranging from -50°C to +50°C with a relative humidity of 100 per cent and does not need to be kept in a hangar. Additionally, Kamov is reported to have offered modifications to the Ka 226T to meet the Navy’s requirement for utility helicopters.

The Kamov purchase will move the Indian military away from French helicopters…

As can be seen, its AUW locates it between the Chetak/Cheetah and the Dhruv and slightly above the LUH that HAL is developing. However, the advantage it holds over the Chetak/Cheetah and the LUH is its twin engine design which is significant from the point of view of survivability in hostile terrain. Its cruise speed of 250 kmph is higher than the Chetak’s which is 185 kmph and its range is 600 km, which is higher than the Chetak’s 500 km. Its fuselage length is just 8.1 metre as compared to the much lighter Chetak which is 10.03 metre long due to the tail boom required to accommodate the tail rotor – a design feature not required in an axial rotor design. The coaxial main rotor system and absence of a tail rotor not only makes it safer on the ground and in the air, but also makes it possible to use the Ka 226T in spaces with scant room for manoeuvre, as the fuselage does not extend beyond the area swept by the rotors. Additional safety is afforded by the rear opening door whose use is uninhibited due to the absence of a tail rotor.

Concluding Remarks

On November 30, 2016, an Indian Army Cheetah helicopter crashed at Sukhna in West Bengal, killing three officers and injuring a soldier. Whether the Court of Inquiry finds the old age of the helicopter to be a contributing factor to the accident or not, the tragedy does serve to highlight the fact that all the defence services are constrained to fly the old and single engine Chetak/Cheetahs while the delay in procuring a replacement takes its toll. Indeed, in March last year, a group of wives of Army officers had even petitioned the then Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar to stop the use of these “outdated” helicopters to avoid casualties.

As far as the Ka 226T itself is concerned, it suits the RSH configuration admirably. With India’s territorial expanse of more than 3,000,000 sq km and land borders of more than 15,000 km with its neighbours, two of whom are definitely hostile towards India; the current inventory of Indian military helicopters is inadequate, especially in the Light Utility Helicopter class. This is even more so as the Light Utility Helicopters are in constant use during peacetime also. The fleet of Ka 226T is ideally suited to fill the gap as it is larger than the Chetak/Cheetah fleet it is replacing and has a compact design due to the absence of a tail boom and a tail rotor.

Like the Chetak/Cheetah, it will be able to land on unprepared surfaces and necessitate minimum effort into preparing helipads as compared to the Dhruv, for example which is one and a half times the AUW and larger in size. In mountainous terrain, this factor becomes critical as also in the case of impromptu helipads for casualty evacuation from any kind of terrain and during operations when preparation of an elaborate helipad may detract from more important tasks.

Another interrogation mark over timely fructification of the Ka-226T project is the delay inherent to HAL’s work culture and past record…

As far as the numbers are concerned, one hopes that the ‘Make in India’ tag brings in economical costs for the Ka 226T so that after the first tranche of 200 helicopters, some more numbers can be contracted for to meet military needs. Cost comparison between a Ka 226T manufactured in Russia and another one produced by HAL would be interesting to watch and may become a significant factor in future orders for Ka 226T.

Another interesting comparison to watch for is that of the price between an HAL-produced Ka 226T and the LUH. Should the LUH throw up a challenge to the KA-226T in terms of favourable price and comparable performance, there could be a change in the Indian military perception of Ka 226T.

The Kamov purchase will move the Indian military away from French helicopters although the French connection will live on in the form of the Turbomeca/ SAFRAN engines fitted on the Ka 226T. As more and more Chetak/Cheetahs fall away from active service, the shortfalls will rise.

It is expected that the total number of Ka 226Ts to be finally produced may go up considerably from the initial 200, a number corresponding to that related to the RSH helicopter RFP. Whether the Ka 226T production facility gears up in time, is a matter of uncertainty as there could be a clash of interests within HAL with Ka-226T production on the one hand and its own LUH development on the other.

Real indigenous development in aerospace manufacturing lies in levelling the field for private and public players alike…

Another interrogation mark over timely fructification of the Ka-226T project is the delay inherent to HAL’s work culture and past record. Moreover, the final pricing pattern of the 60 helicopters to be produced in Russia and the subsequent 140 to be manufactured in India, is not yet finalised although a figure of $1 billion is being mentioned in some media reports. Nonetheless, the signing of the deal itself is a major step and one hopes that a substantial transfer of technology would result as a spin-off from the deal.

The future composition of the fleet of Indian military helicopters is inextricably linked to the evolution of indigenous capability in the helicopter design and development domain. Common sense would indicate the preference of indigenous military platforms to foreign ones, but HAL’s record so far has been neither excellent nor inexpensive for the military user. The success of the Dhruv family cannot be ignored totally, although its variants may not meet the professional aspirations of the military fully. Real indigenous development in aerospace manufacturing lies in levelling the field for private and public players alike.

The usurping of the Ka 226T deal by HAL is not a very cheering thought in that context. While the private sector would have taken a little longer than HAL to set up the Ka 226T assembly line, in the long run, private sector may have absorbed transferred technology faster, served national interests better and produced helicopters that meet military aspirations more comprehensively.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

Gp Capt AK Sachdev

Director - Operations, EIH Ltd.

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