--- title: "Kamov Ka-50 — OnlyPlanes" description: "The Ka-50 Black Shark is a single-seat Kamov attack helicopter with two coaxial main rotors." canonical_url: "https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-50" locale: en meta: keywords: "aviation, aircraft, airlines, airports, flight" "og:description": "The Ka-50 Black Shark is a single-seat Kamov attack helicopter with two coaxial main rotors." "og:image": "https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/50.webp" "og:title": "Kamov Ka-50 — OnlyPlanes" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://onlyplanes.ru/llms.txt) Military helicopters / Ка-50 # Kamov Ka-50 The Ka-50 Black Shark is a single-seat Kamov attack helicopter with two coaxial main rotors. ![Kamov Ka-50 aircraft photograph](https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/50.webp) Development ## History The Ka-50 Black Shark is a single-seat attack helicopter from Kamov's design bureau. It is easily recognized by two main rotors on the same axis turning in opposite directions. The coaxial arrangement needs no conventional tail rotor and had long been associated with Kamov, but it was unusual in a combat aircraft of this class. Another distinctive choice was one pilot responsible for both flying and the attack mission. Development began within a competition for a new generation of combat helicopters. The prototype, known as the V-80, went through trials in the 1980s. Early flights and refinement should not be confused with the start of large production: the Ka-50 was built in limited numbers. Its history belongs to a contest between design approaches rather than a simple one-for-one replacement of every earlier gunship. Ka-50 systems were intended to help a lone pilot navigate, find targets, and use weapons. Protection and pilot escape received considerable attention. Rostec notes an ejection system, an unusual feature for a helicopter. Even sophisticated controls did not remove the need for training, reconnaissance, and communication with the rest of an operation. An individual aircraft's capabilities depended on its equipment and sortie conditions. Coaxial rotors shaped both layout and maneuvering. Without a long drive to a tail rotor, the machine differed from conventional attack types, though it still required a complex transmission. Operating it called for its own maintenance and inspection methods. A comparison with the Mi-28 cannot be reduced only to crew size: rotor arrangement, systems, and task distribution also differed. The Ka-50 saw limited combat use and provided a basis for later development. Projects explored improved equipment for night work. The two-seat Ka-52 became another important branch of the Kamov family, but it is a separate model with a different crew arrangement. Calling it merely a Ka-50 with an extra seat would oversimplify the design history. The Black Shark's importance lies in testing the bold idea of a one-person combat helicopter with coaxial rotors. Limited production does not make the program insignificant. Its engineering and service experience influenced subsequent work. A precise profile separates the V-80 prototype, production Ka-50, and later experimental versions, because photographs and equipment lists can belong to different stages. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"News, stories and rare images from the world of aviation","inLanguage":"en-GB","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"translationOfWork":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-50#webpage","@type":"WebPage","description":"The Ka-50 Black Shark is a single-seat Kamov attack helicopter with two coaxial main rotors.","name":"Kamov Ka-50 | OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-50","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#website"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-50"]}],"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity","@type":"Organization","name":"OnlyPlanes","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en","logo":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo"},"sameAs":["https://t.me/legkoenebo"]},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-50#article","@type":"Article","description":"The Ka-50 Black Shark is a single-seat Kamov attack helicopter with two coaxial main rotors.","headline":"Kamov Ka-50","inLanguage":"en-GB","thumbnailUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/50.webp","author":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"},"image":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-50#webpage"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en/military-aviation/military-helicopters/kamov-ka-50#webpage"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#identity"}},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#logo","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"OnlyPlanes","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/search-logo.png"},{"@id":"https://onlyplanes.ru/en#/schema/image/1","@type":"ImageObject","contentUrl":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/50.webp","inLanguage":"en-GB","url":"https://onlyplanes.ru/images/military-aviation/models/50.webp"}]} ``` ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](https://onlyplanes.ru/sitemap.md) for all pages.