Vietnam Ka-28 ASW Helicopter Equipped with PLAB-250-120 Anti-Submarine Bomb

04 Juni 2021

Ka-28 ASW helicopter of the VPN and PLAB-250-120 anti-submarine bomb (photo : QPVN, KienThuc)

Vietnam's Ka-28 submarine hunting helicopter has a very unique two-stage propeller design, allowing it to operate in complex wind conditions with high stability.

One of the weapons commonly used by Vietnam's Ka-28 submarine hunting helicopters is the PLAB-250-120 submarine hunting bomb. This is a submarine hunting bomb developed by the Soviet Union, with a total weight of 123 kg.

The PLAB-250-120 submarine bomb contains 61 kg of explosives, is 1.5 meters long and needs to be deployed from a minimum height of 50 meters.

This is a very effective Soviet anti-submarine weapon, equipped on many types of anti-submarine aircraft, patrol aircraft and helicopters.

PLAB-250-120 submarine hunting bombs are loaded onto Vietnam's Ka-28 submarine hunting helicopter during a rehearsal.

Ka-28 helicopters are designed to carry up to 4 tons of weapons of all kinds. These weapons include rockets, bombs of all kinds or even missiles. The characteristics of the Ka-28 also allow it to hang weapons in many different positions.

Specifically, the Ka-28 submarine hunting helicopters can hang weapons on the sides of the aircraft or in the weapons compartment under the belly. In particular, the Ka-28 is also capable of carrying bombs on the tail of the aircraft.

The PLAB-250-120 is considered one of the most effective anti-submarine weapons invented by the Soviet Union for naval aviation.

After falling into the water, PLAB-250-120 will sink to a preset depth and detonate. The shock wave generated by the explosion of this bomb is enough to destroy or damage the most modern submarines today.

In fact, PLAB-250-120 may not be powerful enough to sink enemy submarines with a single strike. However, this weapon can severely damage enemy submarines, forcing them to retreat or surface to surrender.

With the Ka-28 helicopters, the unique design consists of two stages of coaxial rotors rotating in opposite directions, allowing the overall length of the helicopter to be shortened, since the tail rotor is not required.

When flying, the two coaxial rotors of the Ka-28 helicopter will rotate in opposite directions, producing two equal and opposite torque forces. These two equal forces will cancel themselves, helping the helicopter to stabilize when flying without the need for a tail.

The overall length is shortened, allowing the Ka-28 helicopter to operate more efficiently and stably in complex climatic conditions.

So far, only Russia has applied the coaxial propeller design to the production of military helicopters. Other American, Western or Chinese helicopters, all use a single propeller design with a conventional tail rotor.

(KienThuc)