RU2232103C1 - Combat helicopter - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: flying vehicles.

SUBSTANCE: proposed combat helicopter has fuselage with crew cabin in its nose section, lifting system, power plant and set of armor panels for protection of areas where crew and power plant are positioned. Front portion of crew cabin is additionally provided with set of armor panels for protection of crew at the front; set of armor panels for protection of crew at the sides includes armor plates mounted on the outside of cabin in nose section. Mounted over rear and lower contours of blisters are armor panels for additional side protection of crew; additional armor plates are mounted over lower contour of side glass of cabin. Mounted at angle in between back of seat and respective side panel are armor panels for protection of crew at the rear and at the sides. Power plant is provided with set of armor panels located on the outside over engine cowlings and at the sides of zones where hydraulic boosters and hydraulic systems of power plant are located. Armor panels are manufacture from ceramic-based materials possessing high protective characteristics at small mass.

EFFECT: enhanced efficiency of protection of helicopter crew.

3 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the construction of a combat helicopter equipped with means of armor protection.

Strengthening the armor of the crew of a combat helicopter is limited by the influence of its substantial weight, in particular on the alignment of the helicopter. With the advent of armored structural materials based on ceramics, the weight of which is significantly less than previously used metal armor plates, it became possible to improve the armor protection of the crew and critical structural elements of a combat helicopter. The American Company Armor of America, according to the advertisement, provides protection for helicopters and crew at a range of 100 m from small arms. The company offers three booking options for protection against bullets and fragments: armored floor in the cockpit; armored floor and seatbacks in the cockpit; armored floor in the cockpit and paratroopers. Two people can complete the installation or replacement of the armor kit in a helicopter within an hour. The specific weight of the armor is 34 kg / m ² .. On serial military helicopters, the total area of armored panels is negligible. Additionally, helmets and body armor are provided for crew members.

In particular, on the US AN-64A APACH combat helicopter (see review of the open foreign press MacDonnell-Douglas AN-64A APACH combat helicopter, TsAGI named after N.E. Zhukovsky, 1989, p. 8, 13 - the closest analogue) the cockpit floor is reinforced with boron fiber, the two-seat cockpit with a tandem seat arrangement is protected by armor from below and from the side, and a transparent armored partition is installed between the front and rear seats of the pilots to protect the rear. Armor protection elements made of Kevlar and polyacrylate are used to protect against bullets and shells with a caliber of 12.7 and 23 mm, respectively. At the level of the pilot’s shoulders and arrow, there are also retractable protective shields.

However, the operation of helicopters in real combat conditions shows insufficient reliability of armor protection in accordance with the well-known layout of armored panels.

The studies and tests of the conditions of possible helicopter damage allowed the creation of an enhanced helicopter armor protection scheme based on the use of new structural materials for armored obstacles with the optimal combination of ceramics and substrate parameters (application of the M. Mil MVZ No. 2001107577/02 (008113)).

The problem solved by the claimed invention is the placement of a set of armored panels on a combat helicopter according to a scheme that provides maximum protection for the crew and the ability to easily install armored panels on a helicopter.

This problem is solved by the fact that on a combat helicopter containing the fuselage with the cockpit in its bow, the supporting system, the power plant and sets of armored panels to protect the crew area in the cockpit from the bottom, rear and side, a set of armored panels is installed in the front part of the cockpit for crew protection at the front, and a crew protection kit on the side includes armored panels mounted outside the crew cabin on the sides of its bow.

Armored panels are installed along the back and bottom contours of the blisters for additional protection of the crew on the side. At the same time, additional armored panels can be installed along the lower contour of the side glazing of the cabin.

Between the back of the seat and the corresponding side panel at an angle to it, armored panels are installed to protect the crew from the rear side.

The power plant is equipped with a set of armored panels located outside on the sides of the engine hoods, as well as on the sides of the power steering and hydraulic systems of the power plant.

The proposed scheme for installing armored panels is based on the analysis of static data on helicopter damage and their operation in real conditions.

Placing a set of armored panels in the front of the cockpit additionally protects crew members from fire from the front of the cockpit, and together with a set of external armored panels on the sides of the bow of the cockpit form a kind of protective hemisphere for crew members. The implementation of the outer side panels simplifies their installation in a helicopter, while the cockpit's internal layout does not always allow for the placement of armored panels to protect the crew side area from the side. A set of armored panels for the frontal part of the cabin may include two or three symmetrically located armored panels, and their height may vary depending on the equipment installed in the cabin.

A set of armored panels installed along the lower contours of the blisters and side glazing complements the set of external armored panels that protect the cockpit along the sides to the level of the required side view, and along the rear contour of the blisters - as if adjoins the vertical armored panels installed between the backs of the seats and the corresponding side panel. These armored panels significantly improve the effectiveness of crew protection from the side and rear-side.

The use of new materials allows you to protect not only the cockpit, but also the vital components of the helicopter, in particular engines, hydraulic boosters and the hydraulic system.

Installation of sets of armored panels both inside and outside the fuselage can be performed using conventional fasteners to the nearest load-bearing elements according to the developed scheme.

All or some of the panel kits may be removable.

Armor is easily installed as needed depending on the flight mission. Moreover, if necessary, such armor can also be mounted on a civilian helicopter used in the combat zone. With a significant increase in the total reservation area, the weight of the armor does not exceed the value allowed from the conditions of its influence on the alignment of the helicopter.

A combat helicopter is represented by drawings, which depict:

figure 1 - combat helicopter with an arrangement of armored panels;

figure 2 is a diagram of the installation of armored panels in the cockpit, General view;

figure 3 is the same, a top view;

figure 4 is the same front view;

figure 5 is a diagram of the installation of armored panels on the elements of the power plant.

A combat helicopter containing the fuselage 1 with the cockpit 2 in the bow, the supporting system, including the bearing 3 and the tail rotors 4, the power plant, including engines 5, as well as sets of armored panels to protect crew members and vital components. In the cockpit of a 2 combat helicopter in the crew members area, it is possible to place sets of armored panels, including: armored panels 6 mounted on the floor in the zone of pilots' legs and armored panels 7 - under the seats, protecting from below; vertically mounted armored panels 8 - in the backs of the seats, and vertical armored panels 9 - at an angle between the armored panels 8 in the backs of the seats and the corresponding side panel of the fuselage 1, protecting the rear-side; vertically mounted in front in the frontal part under the instrument panels armored panels 10, protecting the front.

A set of armored panels 10 may have several armored panels mounted vertically or obliquely in the frontal part of the crew cabin 2 in accordance with the equipment features, the possibility of fastening, and the expediency of matching the mating surface of the frontal part of the fuselage.

A set of armored panels 11 is installed outside the sides of the bow of the cockpit 2 and may include, for example, three armored panels located on the sides symmetrically in accordance with the shape of the surface of the fuselage. Above them are adjacent armored panels 12 located along the lower and rear contours of the blisters, and armored panels 13 located along the lower contour of the side glazing of the cabin 2. Armored panels 12, 13 are installed taking into account the crew's anthropometric data.

The power plant of the helicopter can be equipped with a set of armored panels 14 located outside the sides of the engine hoods, and a set of armored panels 15 located on the sides of the zones of the hydraulic booster and hydraulic system.

If it is necessary to include a third member in the crew and install a seat for it at the cockpit door, the kit can additionally include: armor panel 16 on the cockpit door, armor panel 17 on the left and right sides of the door armor panel 18 on the floor by the door to protect the additional seat.

When installing armor protection on a helicopter, minor changes can be made to the configuration and configuration of the armor panels of sets in accordance with the design features of the helicopter, as well as taking into account the standard sizes of armored ceramic materials.

Armor panels are made of a multilayer material in the form of a substrate of aluminum alloy, a layer of ceramic plates of aluminum oxide and an outer lining of fiberglass. When using combined armor 17 mm thick with a mass of 53 kg / m ^{2, the} armor withstands hits of armor-piercing bullets of 7.62 mm caliber normal to the surface from a distance of 10 m.

Placing on a combat helicopter according to the proposed scheme a set of armored panels made of new ceramic-based armor-resistant materials with high armor-protecting characteristics and relatively low weight, allows to increase the total booking area of a combat helicopter and provide maximum crew protection.

Claims (3)

1. A combat helicopter comprising a fuselage with a cockpit in its bow, a carrier system, a power plant and sets of armored panels installed in the cockpit for protection from below, behind and side of the crew area, characterized in that it is equipped with a kit for protecting the crew area front, the armored panels of which are installed inside the cabin in its frontal part, and the armored panels of the kit for protecting the crew location area are installed on the side outside the cabin on the sides of its bow, while inside the cabin between the side and the back of the seat, at an angle to it, two vertical armor panels are additionally installed. 2. The combat helicopter according to claim 1, characterized in that the additional armored panels are installed along the rear and lower contours of the blisters and the lower contour of the side glazing to the level of the required side view corresponding to the anthropometric data of the pilots. 3. A combat helicopter according to claim 1, characterized in that the power plant is equipped with a set of armored panels located outside on the sides of the engine hoods and on the sides of the power steering and hydraulic systems of the power plant.

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