Saebyŏk SS-32 Jamjari
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| SS-32 Jamjari | |
|---|---|
| Role | Attack helicopter |
| National origin | Banbha Menghe |
| Manufacturer | Gyundoan-Han |
| Introduction | 2004 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Menghean Army |
| Produced | 2004-present |
| Developed from | Bell AH-1 SuperCobra |
The Saebyŏk SS-32 Jamjari (Dragonfly) is a version of the Banbhan AH-1 SuperCobra produced under license in Menghe. It serves as a lighter, faster counterpart to the Gyundoan-Han GH-26 Agŏ, locating and engaging targets ahead of the main airborne force. In contrast to the GH-30 Palsaekjo, however, it is unambiguously an attack helicopter, with greater offensive and defensive capabilities than a dedicated reconnaissance and utility helicopter.
Procurement
Until the ealry 2000s, Menghe's only attack helicopter was the Gyundoan-Han GH-26 Agŏ, itself a derivative of the Reberiyan ShGv-5. Though it could carry an impressive payload of rockets or anti-tank missiles, the GH-26 was also bulky, heavy, and somewhat slow. While its top speed of 300 kilometers per hour was relatively average for an attack helicopter of the period, its momentum and poor agility made it difficult to handle, especially in nap-of-the-earth flying. The GH-26 also inherited the ShGv-5's passenger compartment, which many pilots later judged superfluous.
Throughout the 1990s, the Menghean Ministry of National Defense solicited bids for foreign and domestic attack helicopter designs to replace the GH-26. The Menghean Army, however, was still seriously constrained by the budget cuts of the late 1980s, and did not place any actual orders for a replacement, instead hoping to use armed models of the upcoming Gyundoan-Han GH-30 Palsaekjo. As a result, the GH-26 successor programme mostly existed in limbo until the turn of the millennium.
Two developments boosted the urgency of the Light Attack Helicopter program. First, Menghe's intervention in the Polvokian Civil War revealed a number of more or less serious shortcomings with the GH-26. During this operation, Menghe's only dedicated reconnaissance helicopter was the GH-12, a licensed version of the Mil Mi-2. With a top speed of just 200 km/h, the GH-12 often held up combined helicopter formations when sent to screen ahead. It was also completely unarmed in its base variant, and hasty efforts to refit it with machine guns only slowed it further. The GH-26 also performed poorly in the screening role, often caught off guard by enemy anti-aircraft emplacements. After a series of crashes late in the war, the Menghean Army discouraged nap-of-the-earth flying in the GH-26, which led to a number of higher-level shootdowns.
Second, as part of a relief deal intended to resolve debts accumulated during the 1999 Menghean financial crisis, Menghe rescinded its claims to the Renkaku Islands, a move which improved relations with Dayashina and cleared the way for arms sales from Dayashina and its ally Banbha. This allowed Banbha to enter the AH-1W into Menghe's Light Attack Helicopter competition, which had benefited from a new wave of funding and a promise of future sales from the Menghean Army.
Menghe and Banbha concluded a licensing agreement in 2002. Under this agreement, a modified version of the AH-1W would be produced in Menghe by a joint venture comprised of the newly-founded Saebyŏk Aviation Company and a Banbhan partner, transitioning to full Menghean operation by 2012. Locally-built helicopters would bear the designation SS-32.
Externally, the SS-32 is nearly identical to a 1990s-model AH-1W, but it incorporates a number of internal changes. The cockpit displays and avionics all use Menghean text, and Menghean voice recordings were added to the audio warning system. The hardpoints on the stub wings were also modified to carry Menghean rocket pods and missile pylons, and the fire-control system was modified to support the YDCh-17 and YDCh-18 anti-tank guided missiles as well as the YDG-38 light anti-air missile. The first locally-produced SS-32G entered service in 2004, built from a mix of imported knockdown parts and locally produced components.
Design
The SS-32 is mostly identical to late-90s models of the AH-1, featuring Banbhan improvements such as the use of a four-bladed rotor. As part of the transition to local production, Menghe made a number of further modifications.
The GE-223 twin cannon in the chin turret was replaced by a GSh-23L cannon. This is chambered in 23×110mm ammunition, already used by the Gyundoan-Han GH-26 Agŏ and standalone gunpods for other Menghean helicopters. Though the GE-223 has slightly better range and accuracy, it is chambered in the Banbhan 23×133mm cartridge, and the Menghean Army objected to the logistical problems that could result from having two 23mm cartridges in circulation within helicopter units.
The stub wings were modified to use Menghean munitions, with bomb lug supports at 250mm intervals. The pylon electrical interfaces, onboard software, and forward laser designator and guidance unit were also modified to support control and guidance of these weapons.
All cockpit indicators, audio warnings, and interface controls are in Menghean rather than Anglian, as are most labels on internal parts and components.
Variants
- SS-32G
- The original Menghean production variant which entered service in 2004. Supports the YDCh-17 and YDCh-18 anti-tank guided missiles, as well as the YGG-38 MANPADS missile and UPK-23-250 gunpod.
- SS-32N
- An improved variant which entered service in 2008. It features special air interchange devices to cool the engines' exhaust and vent it outward into the rotor downwash, reducing the helicopter's infrared signature and by extension its vulnerability to heat-seeking missiles. Another key visual difference is the presence of an electro-optical unit on top of the rotor mast; this is the same type used on certain variants of the Gyundoan-Han GH-30 Palsaekjo. The onboard weapon control systems were upgraded to support the YDCh-70 and YDJ-48 anti-tank guided missiles, and the stub wings were lengthened to allow more space between hardpoints, enabling the carriage of larger YDJ-48 missiles.