Gyundoan-Han GH-28 Ppulsoeori
| GH-28 "Ppulsoeori" | |
|---|---|
| |
| The ASW and troop transport versions of the GH-28, with typical payloads. | |
| Role | ASW helicopter (-N and -R) |
| National origin | Letnia/Menghe |
| Manufacturer | Gyundoan-Han Helicopter Factory |
| First flight | 1979 |
| Introduction | 1981 |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Menghean Navy |
| Produced | 1980–present |
| Developed from | Kamov Ka-27 |
The Gyundoan-Han GH-28 (Formal designation: 균도안-한 28호 직승기 / 균도안-恨 二八號 直升機, Gyundoan-Han ipal-ho Jiksŭnggi, "Gyundoan-Han No.28 Helicopter;" Short designation 균한-28 Gyuhan-ipal "GH-28"), also known by the nickname Ppulsoeori (뿔쇠오리, "crested murrelet"), is a utility helicopter family used by the Menghean Navy from the 1970s to the present day. It has been built in troop transport, anti-submarine warfare, and maritime search and rescue variants.
Design and development
In 1975, the Democratic People's Republic of Menghe purchased two Kamov Ka-27 helicopters from Letnia as competitors in a procurement search for the Menghean People's Navy. Though satisfied with most aspects of the design, MPN representatives requested that changes be made to suit their needs, resulting in substantial modifications to the body of the helicopter. While design work was underway, Gyundoan-Han negotiated a license agreement for the Ka-27's Klimov TV3-117 turbine engine and transmission, but did not negotiate a license for the Ka-27 itself. When the GH-28 was unveiled in 1978, its existence fed international debate over whether it had been illegally copied from the Ka-27 airframe, with Gyundoan-Han insisting that all aiframe parts apart from the powerplant and rotor set are of independent design and not subject to patent restrictions.
Like the Ka-27, the GH-28 uses a tandem rotor configuration, which eliminates the need for a tail rotor to counteract rotational torque. Once the helicopter has handed, service crews can fold the rotor blades back over the top of the fuselage, further reducing its storage space. A twin rotor also gives the GH-28 a relatively good power-to-weight ratio, allowing it to carry heavy sensor equipment (in its "N" variant) or a large cargo payload (in its "G" variant), and more stable handling in hover and descent, good for landing on a moving ship.
The GH-28 was originally ordered in two variants. The first, variant "G," was a dedicated troop transport and utility airframe, with a roomy passenger compartment and no dedicated ground-attack electronics apart from the pilot's holographic rocket sight. The second, variant "N," was a dedicated anti-submarine warfare platform, with a dipping sonar, sonobuoy rack, sea-search radar, and trailing magnetic anomaly detector. It also had room for two additional crew members who were tasked with monitoring the submarine-search electronics. Both helicopters retained external weapons pylons to carry rocket pods and homing torpedoes. Over the decades that followed, both received substantial upgrades and refits to make use of new weapons and electronics, and some new variants built around other roles were introduced.
Differences with Ka-27
Though the GH-28 is often described as a "clone" of the Kamov Ka-29, the two helicopters have a number of external differences due to Gyundoan and Han's modifications to the airframe. Notable external differences, useful for spotting and identification, include:
- The entire body is widened to match the cockpit, in contrast to the Ka-29, which becomes narrower near the hardpoint supports.
- The rudders and vertical stabilizers are more angular, and grow narrower from front to rear rather than rear to front.
- There is a centered, retractable front nosewheel, as opposed to the two non-retractable side nosewheels of the Ka-29.
- The rear landing gear sits under teardrop-shaped supports, and is retractable, with no link to the hardpoint supports.
- The door to the passenger compartment slides forward on rails, rather than opening in an up-down clamshell layout.
- The door to the pilot's compartment opens on a hinge rather than a rail.
- The window behind the pilot/copilot door windows is larger and slopes upward on the lower edge, somewhat resembling the windows on the Demirkan-Yŏng'an DY-11.
- On most versions, the external arms stores have one hardpoint per side rather than two, and they are about 33% shorter.
- The antennas and radomes under the tail boom are different, though they vary between models.
- The nose is slightly longer and rounder, and the cockpit slightly further forward.
Variants
- GH-28G
- Original troop transport and general utility version, which made its first flight in 1978.
- GH-28N
- Original anti-submarine warfare version from 1981. Features a nose-mounted sea search radar and a dipping sonar at the base of the tail, but no magnetic anomaly detector. The troop compartment is taken up by an electronics and instruments room, and the total crew is increased to six, with no space for passengers. Two external hardpoints are fitted; typically, one would carry a torpedo, and one would carry a rack of sonobuoys.
- GH-28D
- Dedicated search-and-rescue variant introduced in 1984. Generally similar to the GH-28G, it differs most visibly in the layout of the landing gear: the wheels are surrounded by inflatable floats, allowing the helicopter to land directly on the surface of the ocean. A small winch assembly over each sliding side door allows a rope or stretcher to be lowered into the water. No external hardpoints are fitted.
- GH-28M
- Airborne early warning variant with a large air- and surface-search radar mounted under the fuselage. In transit, the array is stored flush against the lower hull to reduce drag and allow landing. The array can be deployed when the helicopter is in a stable hovering position with calm to moderate winds. This function allows ship formations without land- or carrier-based fixed-wing AEW assets to more effectively track aircraft, missiles, and surface targets beyond the horizon. First flown in 1998.
- GH-28R
- Improved anti-submarine warfare version introduced in 1997. Features an entirely different sea-search radar in a new nose profile, as well as a new dipping sonar in the same compartment. The sliding doors of the crew compartment were removed entirely and replaced with a fixed, starboard-facing sonobuoy ejector system. A laser and electro-optical targeting system was installed on top of the cabin to magnify visual contacts and provide designation for certain weapons.
- GH-28M
- A new "transport-gunship" variant used for landing troops ashore in Marine Infantry operations. It has wider wing struts with an extra pair of hardpoints, and a dual-spectrum camera and laser designator in the nose to target guided munitions. Defensive changes include the addition of an infrared jamming system, exhaust-cooling air mixers, and chaff and flare dispensers on the fuselage sides.
- GH-28DJN
- An improved anti-submarine warfare variant introduced in 2001. It features a new surface search radar in a redesigned nose cone, an electro-optical sight on top of the cockpit, and a towed magnetic anomaly detector which is stored under the tail when not in use. The rear fuselage section at the base of the tail is redesigned to accommodate a new type of dipping sonar. A total of 12 sonobuoys are carried in external boxes mounted on either side of the rear fuselage. The rear landing gear struts were redesigned to be further back, allowing the hardpoints to carry the longer YŎ-35/2 torpedo.
- GH-28SN
- A new transport and utility model introduced in 2002 alongside the GH-28DJN. It features the same avionic and communications upgrades applied to the DJN, but with a smaller navigation radar in the nose. No external hardpoints are fitted.
- GH-28SN1
- Designation for GH-28SN helicopters with braces for pintle-mounted weapons outside each sliding door. These can support GCh-77 or GCh-96 machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, or rotary machine guns.
Operators
Specifications (GH-28R1)
General characteristics
- Crew: 5 (pilot, copilot, and three sensor operators)
- Length: 12.77 m (41 ft 11 in)
- Rotor diameter: ()
- Height: 5.45 m (17 ft 10 in)
- Disc area: 2 × 15.8 m2 (170 ft2)
- Empty weight: 7,650 kg (16,870 lb)
- Max. takeoff weight: 12,000 kg (26,500 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × GH Type 04 turboshaft, 1,660 kW (2,230 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 260 km/h (140 knots, 161 mph)
- Range: 900 km (485 nautical miles, 560 miles)
- Service ceiling: 3,800 m (12,400 ft)
Armament
- Hardpoints: One pylon per side. Armament options for each hardpoint include:
- Additional over-wing mount for MANPADS missile tube.
Avionics
- Surface-search radar
- Dipping sonar
- Trailing magnetic anomaly detector
- 20 × sonobuoy in side ejector tube