Multi-purpose attack helicopter PAH-2 Tiger
The PAH-2 Tiger helicopter was developed by the Eurocopter consortium, which includes the German company MBB and the French Aerospatiale. According to the agreement adopted in 1987 by the representatives of Germany and France, two variants of a combat helicopter were developed — an anti-tank one for both countries, which received the name PAH-2 in Germany, and HAC in France, and an escort helicopter and fire support only for France, named HAP. The first flight of a prototype PAH-2 helicopter took place on 27 on April 1991 of the year.
A special feature of the PAH-2 combat helicopter are: the ability to perform combat missions around the clock and in difficult meteorological conditions, high maneuverability, combat survivability and operational manufacturability, a qualitatively new level of automation for controlling onboard systems and weapons, as well as the extensive use of composite materials.
All variants of the PAH-2 helicopter are based on a single basic design (fuselage, engines, hydraulic, fuel and electrical systems, etc.), as well as on the modular design of special equipment. The basic design is based on the scheme of a single-rotor helicopter with a tail rotor, two gas turbine engines and a three-post landing gear with a tail wheel.
The PAH-2 helicopter has an aircraft-type fuselage, made approximately of 80% of composite materials, which not only reduces the weight of the helicopter's design, but also contributes to a reduction in the life-cycle cost and labor-intensive operation. In front of the fuselage are located under the scheme "tandem" cockpit pilot and pilot-operator. The cockpit is in front, and the cockpit of the pilot is behind and somewhat higher. The main controls are duplicated and located in both cockpits, so that if necessary, the pilot-operator can take control of the helicopter. The design of the fuselage as a whole and the chassis are made with regard to the requirements for safe damageability of structures and systems. To ensure the safety of the crew in the event of an emergency landing in the lower part of the fuselage, there are panels with a honeycomb core that have the ability to absorb kinetic energy. This design provides a safe landing for the crew with a vertical speed of up to 10,5 m / s. In the event of an emergency landing, a significant part of the energy is also taken up by the pilot's seats and landing gear.
The PAH-2 helicopter has a wing with a span of 4.5 m, the end parts of which are lowered down. On the wing there are four suspension assemblies for weapons or additional fuel tanks. The power plant consists of two turboshaft gas turbine engines MTR 390 with power at maximum take-off mode 958 kW. each The power plant is controlled by an electronic-digital system that ensures optimum engine performance in all modes. To reduce the visibility of the helicopter in the infrared range, the nozzles of the engines are equipped with devices for mixing exhaust gases with air. In case of failure of one of the engines, the flight can be continued by bringing another engine to an emergency mode. The total capacity of the fuel tanks is 1360 l. The fuel tanks are equipped with a system to prevent an explosion of the gas-air mixture in the fuel space.
The PAH-2 helicopter is equipped with a four-blade main and three-blade tail rotors. Blades screws made of composite materials. All helicopter variants are equipped with reconnaissance and sighting equipment, navigation equipment and control systems. weaponsensuring their combat use day and night, in simple and complex meteorological conditions. The sighting system consists of: a television camera, an infrared night vision system, a laser rangefinder-target designator and helmet-mounted sights. Sighting and navigation information can be displayed on the helmet-mounted indicators, on the windshield and color multifunctional displays on liquid crystals in the cockpits of the crew.
The armament of anti-tank helicopters should consist of 8 Hot-2 ATGMs or 8 new Trigat ATGMs and 4 missiles "Mistral" or "Stinger" air-to-air class. Escort and fire support helicopters are armed with a built-in 30-mm aircraft cannon on a turret mount, launchers for unguided 68-mm rockets and 4 "Mistral" missiles.
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