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The Kamov Ka-31 (NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy and currently in service in Russia, China and India in the naval airborne early warning and control role. As with all Kamov helicopters except the Ka-60/-62 family, the Ka-31 has co-axially mounted contra-rotating main rotors. The airframe of the Ka-31 is based on the Kamov Ka-27. One visually distinctive feature of the Ka-31 is the large antenna of the early-warning radar, which is either rotating or folded and stowed under the fuselage. The second is the reduction of the bulky electro-optical sensory suite beneath the cockpit. The landing gear retracts in order to prevent interference with the radar. ==Design and development== The Kamov Joint Stock Company (then, Kamov DB), began development of the Ka-31 medium-weight naval helicopter in 1980 and the first flight took place in 1987. This development was the direct result of the cancellation of the shipborne Antonov An-71 AWACS aircraft. The An-71 was intended to be deployed on the Soviet Navy's first true aircraft carrier, ''Admiral Kuznetsov'' (then known as ''Tbilisi''). The An-71 was cancelled in favour of the Yakovlev Yak-44. Though Yak-44 was in development (and not yet cancelled) at that time, the Soviet Navy wanted a stop-gap measure and began investigating other viable platforms to act as an AEW, on sea. The Soviet Navy selected the tested the Kamov Ka-27 airframe. The Kamov Design Bureau was already in the process of developing the Ka-29. Nizhny Novgorod Radio Engineering Institute was working on a Radar Design to be used on the An-71, the same design (with changes for a rotary wing airframe). So they were all mated in 1980 and the design was known as Ka-29RLD. The radar development took time and it was not until 1987 the first flight took place.〔Jane's All the World's Aircraft, 1999-2000 - Page 372, by Paul Jackson, 1999〕 The production version of the Ka-29RLD/-31 was very different from the Ka-29 from which it was derived.〔http://www.aeronautics.ru/archive/vvs/ka29-01.htm〕 Some of the distinct features of the Kamov Ka-31 are:〔http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/ka31/〕 * The removal of the bulky electro-optical sensory suite, beneath the cockpit. * The cockpit is wider than the KA-27/29, with 2 additional MFDs. * The ASW capability is not installed. * The addition of Kronstadt Kabris 12-channel global positioning system. * The powerplant is a more powerful Klimov TV3-117VMAR x 2. (the Ka-27 uses TV3-117BK) * The TA-8Ka APU is added to provide power for the radar and C4ISR * 16-channel digital communication gear with range up to . Radar of the Ka-31 airborne early warning helicopter has a 360° coverage and can spot aircraft-size target from 150 km range. Surface ships are spotted from 100 – 200 km range. Radar can track 30 - 40 targets simultaneously. Helicopter has a datalink to transfer the target tracking data to the command post(land base or mother ship). The Ka-31 is fitted with GPS and digital terrain mapping systems.〔http://www.military-today.com/helicopters/kamov_ka31.htm Kamov Ka-31 Helix data military-today〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kamov Ka-31」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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