Kawazaki Ki-62 attack helicopter


 * Not to be confused with the Kawazaki Ki-62 Tengu II V/STOL fighter aircraft.

The Kawazaki Ki-62 is a Yamataian all-weather, day-night, military attack helicopter developed and manufactured by Kawazaki. Notably, it is one of the only attack helicopters in existence. It carries a single rotary cannon in an underbelly turret, plus external loads carried on four pylons beneath stub wings. The Ki-62 is also known to be one of the fastest attack helicopters in the world.

It is primarily used by the Yamatai Imperial Army, as well as Dai Hoa and Masuka.

The helicopter is famous for its ability hunt down armoured vehicles. In addition to this, the Ki-54 is also well-known for its urban combat capabilities.

Design
The Ki-62 is a new-generation attack helicopter that functions as an air-to-air and air-to-ground gunship for Imperial Army forces in open and urban terrain. The four-blade main rotor is mounted above the body midsection. Wide, tapered, weapon-carrying wings are mounted to the rear of the body midsection. Two turboshaft engines in pods are mounted alongside the top of the fuselage. The fuselage is slender and tapers to the tail boom and nose. It features tandem, stepped-up cockpits, a cannon mounted beneath the belly, and non-retractable landing gear on the tail and wingtips. Due to the energy-absorbing landing gear and seats the crew can survive a vertical fall of up to 12 m/s. The Ki-62 has a fully armoured cabin, including the windshield, which withstands 7.62 and 12.7 mm armour piercing bullets and 20 mm shell fragments.

The Ki-62 uses a NOTAR system, with a fan inside the tail boom that builds a high volume of low-pressure air, which exits through two slots and creates a boundary layer flow of air along the tailboom utilizing the Coandă effect. The boundary layer changes the direction of airflow around the tailboom, creating thrust opposite the motion imparted to the fuselage by the torque effect of the main rotor. Directional yaw control is gained through a vented, rotating drum at the end of the tailboom, called the direct jet thruster. This system makes the Ki-62 one of the quietest and most manoeuvrable attack helicopters in the world.

Users

 * Yamatai: The Yamatai Imperial Army is the primary user with 57 helicopters in service. All Yamataian helicopters have been upgraded to the Ki-62 Kai standard, and there is a plan to increase the inventory to 150 helicopters by 2030. Two helicopters crashed in training accidents.
 * Dai Hoa: The People's Army of Dai Hoa Ground Force operates 5 Ki-62s, which were purchased in 2012.
 * Masuka: The Masukan National Air Defence Force operates 2 Ki-62s. 3 were purchased in 2015, but one was damaged after its hangar collapsed and has been cannibalised for spare parts.

Specifications
Data from Kaizuka

General characteristics


 * Crew: 2
 * Length: 15.76 m
 * Wingspan: 8.82 m
 * Height: 4.15 m
 * Empty weight: 8,860 kg
 * Loaded weight: 15,000 kg
 * Max. takeoff weight: 18,000 kg
 * Powerplant: 2 × YamaDen Aoba700-7 turboshaft engines

Performance


 * Maximum speed: 412 km/h
 * Range: 475.3km
 * Service ceiling: 6,900 m

Armament


 * Guns: 1 × 20 mm Arisaka Type-48 rotary cannon with 1,200 rounds
 * Hardpoints: Four pylon stations on the wings
 * Rockets:
 * General: Mitsuhishi Raiden-70-2 70mm air-to-ground rocket, KanaTomo Evolved Raiden 70mm precision-guided rocket
 * Dai Hoa: 80mm rocket (Dai Hoa),  122mm rocket (Dai Hoa)
 * Missiles:
 * Typically Type-84 air-to-surface missiles and variants; air-to-air may also be carried.