When you said "look for other alternatives" I thought you were referring to other naval attack helicopters, but you were referring to replacing the radar only on the Katran and Alligators. I think they should wait for the AESA to be ready and then insist on a upgrade through the original tender agreement they would sign for the contract. If it will be the Zhuk-AE, it will still need to be a modified version to fit and work on helos instead of the fighter-built radar. But still, I think it's better to stick with the same and more compatible equipment designed for that purpose than shop for a different make and try to fit it. I think that is much more difficult and also costly.
The Russians always overdo the capabilities of their equipment, at least before they're available. For example, they claimed that with the Arbalet radar (which is supposed to be the Russian equivalent of the Apache Longbow,) not only will the Katran be able to fire that huge, KH-35 missile (which is subsonic like a cruise missile) but also the mach-2 KH-31! lol. For a helicopter to fire a supersonic missile, it will need to fly higher altitudes and higher speeds for that missile's guidance system to work correctly. I tend not to trust these people when it comes to the things they claim their platforms "will end up doing" or "will be capable of so and so" until it actually does it.
I would also say that the Katran still needs to prove it can actually do all the things they say it can. Viper is a proven platform and also, here's the difference in the two makers - the US, for example, has a different philosophy as far as what platforms conduct what missions. They don't overload certain ones with many different multi-mission capable roles (until the F-35 lol.) In their case, the Viper would never need to carry a cruise-type missile such as Kh series because they leave that duty to other naval platforms such as their submarines or F/A-18 Super Hornets or the AV-8B Harrier (now the F-35B's function) etc. They design their weapon's capabilities according to the way they would fight a naval or ground role. The Russians, on the other hand, will load as much as possible on one platform and say this thing can do this and that and the other thing and also go to the moon if you like. Gotta be careful and we're yet to see if it truly can perform such things, and perform them well.
I also read somewhere that supposedly, the Alligator and Katran have UAV deploying capabilities! Have you heard of this? In the photo below, the large container on the left wing is supposed to be a utility and repair box with all sorts of tools and items to help the pilots repair anything on the chopper they need to if they are stranded or need to fix something in a remote area. It's also like a suitcase but it was also claimed that this container is capable of opening from the bottom and deploying up to 5, small UAV's and sending them out to recon battle areas ahead of the helicopter and show real-time imagery on the color display units for the pilots who remain at safe distance. I don't know the validity of this, but it was mentioned by a highly respected military person. It just goes to show, if true, how crazy and super loaded the Russians try to make their platforms!
The large pod houses the UAV's and those wingtip pods with the small fins supposedly will be the datalink pods for controlling the UAV's and receiving/transmitting signals.
Nice idea, actually. Anyone know of this?
The one negative I would say about this helo is in the location of the gun. You can see it clearly in this picture and unlike most, if not all other attack helos that have their guns mounted on the nose for not only easier aiming but for much more rotation, it has its gun at mid-body with almost 0 movement capability. That means every time they use it, they have to point the helicopter in the direction of whatever they're firing at. They cannot really make full use of any helmet cuing system or have better area range of firing without having to control the helicopter as well. I would say that is a downside IMO.
Because it can't be mounted on or below the nose since it needs to make room for the ECO-52 optical electronic system which is an excellent thing, no question. So maybe a good compromise in this case.
Viper might not have a weapon like the KH-35, but it's still a very deadly naval helo and multi-role just as much. I'm with you as far as the Katran being a better option. The coaxial rotor design alone gives it such great advantages and the ejection system.
I think they should stick with it and make sure the Russians agree to update/upgrade the radar system when it becomes successfully tested and operational as part of the purchase agreement.
