GarryB Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:23 am
Ansat is a very light helo, and would likely be a very good basis for a police helicopter, or anti terrorism helo.
It could even be a very useful armed light recon helo where its reduced size and weight make it much cheaper to operate than a larger heavier aircraft.
The problem is that a modern UAV could probably also perform most roles a light helo would be expected to perform now.
Ironically I think the Russians have gone the other way to the west in terms of attack helos, where the west has Tigers and Cobras and Mongoose helicopters which are all lighter, the Apache is the exception in being heavier and better armed. In the Russian stable they seem to have gone for even heavier than the Apache in terms of protection and weapons.
The Kornet-EM will be a very potent new weapon for light helos like the Ansat and indeed any armed versions of the Ka-226, but also with UCAVs.
Hermes will likely be too heavy for such light helos... at about 170kgs per missile you could pack about 5 Kornet missiles for each Hermes missile, and in terms of target detection the Kornet avionics will be smaller and lighter and more compact than the systems needed for Hermes.
Ironically fitting 16 Kornet EM missiles to an Ansat or Ka-226 means an 8km effective engagement range for armour and a 10km range against enemy aircraft... that is actually as good as or better than an Apache Longbow, as the Apache would use Stingers with an air to air range of about 6km and Hellfire missiles with an effective range of 8km.
Obviously the Apache also has an effective 30mm gun with 1200 rounds, while the light helos will have machinegun level weapons, though a 30mm grenade launcher alternative option would be useful. The new Balkan 40mm grenade launcher would be even better as its max range is 2,500m compared with 2,100m for the 30mm grenade launcher, and a much larger payload.
An added advantage is that the 40mm grenades of the Balkan are caseless so there is no empty case to eject or cycle... they are more like mini mortar shells.