Kamov Ka-50
attack helicopter series by Kamov
The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (Russian: Камов Ка-50 «Чёрная акула», romanized: Chyornaya akula, English: kitefin shark, literally: black shark), NATO reporting name Hokum A, is a Soviet/Russian single-seat attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the Kamov design bureau. It was designed in the 1980s and adopted for service in the Russian army in 1995. The Ka-50 is manufactured by the Progress company in Arsenyev. It is used as a heavily armed scout helicopter and has a rescue ejection system, rare for helicopters.
During the late 1990s, Kamov and Israel Aerospace Industries developed a tandem-seat cockpit version, the Kamov Ka-50-2 "Erdogan" (Russian: Эрдоган, Turkish: Erdoğan), to compete in Turkey's attack helicopter competition. Kamov also designed another two-seat variant, the Kamov Ka-52 "Alligator" (Russian: Аллигатор, NATO reporting name: Hokum B).
The Ka-52's unit cost is US$16 million as of 2023. It has been deployed in the Russo-Ukrainian war, where, according to Oryx, dozens have been lost in combat.
Development
The Ka-50 is the production version of the V-80Sh-1 prototype. Production of the attack helicopter was ordered by the Soviet Council of Ministers on 14 December 1987.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q269250. The Library of Congress control number is sh97007947. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1995, 2023 and 1987.
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