North Korean Hughes 500E.

[Loach Driver]

The mythical Hughes 500E helicopters that North Korea obtained back in the eighties seem to be alive and well and still in use. They featured in a large military parade that took place this week. Photos are here;

http://theaviationist.com/2013/07/30/dprk-h500e/#.Uf0ZftJwpcw

and a video is here;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23474614

The video is interesting in that it shows four pairs of 500Es flying. Some are on tall skids and some on short skids. It looks like they are fitted with AT-3 anti-tank missiles although it is hard to tell if they are real missiles or mock-ups. Hopefully, a few more photos will come out in the next while.

LD.

[jwest21]

I saw that video and was wondering where they got those

[arkhunter2002]

Interesting... I wonder if they will/have reverse-engineered it to sustain parts for that long and/or build new ones...

Take care,

Austin

[Loach Driver]

The style of 500E nose on them seems to indicate that they are the original airframes. I'd guess that they have either cannibalised some of the 80 they bought or possibly sourced spare parts throughout the world from civilian sources. It's no real surprise to see them flying but it is good to finally see what these mystery ships look like.

LD.

[Berkut]

They bought them from Germany if my memory doesn't fail me.

[DonSS3]

I remember seeing those on TV. I'm wondering if the "People's Paradise" government has let their citizens know that these came from a decadent western source?

[Litvyak]

I remember seeing those on TV. I'm wondering if the "People's Paradise" government has let their citizens know that these came from a decadent western source?

Heh, not likely!

I've read that they remove identifying info from everything, even like, the builder's plates from locomotives made in the USSR... and there was a street in some city called Ernst-Thaelmann-Street, the city was redesigned by some East German architects and engineers, but as soon as the Germans left they changed the name of the street... so yeah, very much doubt they mention the origin of these helicopters...

[kotey]

During the same parade were flew one Mi-26 which bore a flag of Norht Korea.

[AH6C-SIP]

The mythical Hughes 500E helicopters that North Korea obtained back in the eighties seem to be alive and well and still in use. They featured in a large military parade that took place this week. Photos are here;

http://theaviationist.com/2013/07/30/dprk-h500e/#.Uf0ZftJwpcw

and a video is here;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23474614

The video is interesting in that it shows four pairs of 500Es flying. Some are on tall skids and some on short skids. It looks like they are fitted with AT-3 anti-tank missiles although it is hard to tell if they are real missiles or mock-ups. Hopefully, a few more photos will come out in the next while.

LD.

Well this is just the silliest thing I've ever seen. This would be like putting SS-11 missiles on the aircraft. We had SS-11's mounted on M Models Huey's in our D 3/8 CAV troop in the early 70's before the Cobra's were fitted with the TMS. Sagger is only good out to 3KM, so could you imagine how close you have to get to the target. Also, if you've never fired an SS-11, you can bet you need to be real steady on the joy stick 'cause you have to physically fly the missile to the target. It's not like a TOW where you just have to keep the crosshairs on the target. Would be fun to watch the Koreans try though.

The missile is guided to the target by means of a small joystick (9S415), which requires profound training of the operator. The operator's adjustments are transmitted to the missile via a thin three-strand wire that trails behind the missile. The missile climbs into the air immediately after launch, which prevents the missile hitting obstacles or the ground. In flight the missile spins at 8.5 revolutions per second—it is initially spun by its booster, and the spin is maintained by the slight angle of the wings. The missile uses a small gyroscope to orient itself relative to the ground; as a result the missile can take some time to bring back in line with the target, which gives it a minimum range of somewhere between 500 m and 800 m. For targets under 1000 m, the operator can guide the missile by eye; for targets beyond this range the operator uses the 8x power, 22.5 degree field of view 9Sh16 periscope sight.

The engagement envelope is a 3 km, 45 degree ARC centered on the missiles launch axis. At ranges under 1.5 km this ARC reduces, until at 500 m range the missile can only hit targets 50 m either side of the center line. It should be noted that accuracy falls off away from the launch axis—falling to approximately half its optimal accuracy at the extremes.

Regards, GT