The Bnatydun (Predator) GH-01 was designed as an attack helicopter with the ability to carry troops and is similar in concept to the Soviet Hind helicopter. The design was planned to generally operate with support from either pure combat helicopter or VTOL aircraft. On the Cay Kut class multi-role amphibious carrier, usually eight Bnatydun gunship helicopters are carried along with four Ryfg Attack helicopters.
It was also originally planned as an interim design with thrust based VTOL aircraft taking over the role. The problem was that the Navy always had higher priority designs which used up the available research and design budget and the program kept being pushed back. Haruspex International Armaments under contract to the Imperial Navy however managed to create an aerocraft that appealed to both the wallets and the needs of the navy in one go.
One of the major differences the Bnatydun has over other HIA helicopters is the ability to carry troops as well as being heavily armed. One of the major roles for the helicopter was for insertion in hostile areas and to be able to support the troops on the ground. The helicopter can carry up to ten troops. In many cases, the helicopter will only carry eight troops so that two door gunners can be carried. The crew of the helicopter is larger than that for most helicopters. There is a pilot, co-pilot (who also controls forward weapons), a secondary gunner who controls the ball turret mounted under the nose, and a flight engineer / communications technician. Often, the helicopter will operate without the flight tech.
The Bnatydun carries the same systems carried on most gunships/attack helicopters. The Helicopter has a winch and cargo sling. As a result, it can be used for light cargo carrying as well as for search and rescue missions.
The Bnatydun is very heavily armed with both guns and missiles. Permanently mounted on the tip of the stub wings are large capacity mini-missile pods. It was decided that mini-missiles would almost always be needed and a permanent mounting would be very useful. Each missile pod carried twenty four mini-missiles. In addition, the helicopter has four hard points on the wings. Each hard point can carry four medium range missiles, eight short range missiles, or a mini-missile pod which carries sixteen mini-missiles. Mini-missile pods are most commonly carried and if the helicopter is only carrying mini-missile pods, the helicopter can carry a total of 112 mini-missiles.
Secondary armament consists of the ball turret mounted upon the nose. This turret carries 12.7mm gatling cannon, suitable for suppressive fire against ground targets as well as soft vehicles. Additionally, for use against light armor and fortified positions, the Bnatydun carries wing tip mounted Type 4 40mm anti-tank cannon. As defense when offloading troops and so forth the helicopter has positions for two door gunners manning K1-b 12.7mm HMG's.
Additional roles often associated with the Bnatydun; close-range infantry support, troop transport, medivac with four stretchers, SAR/CSAR, liaison, light cargo, reconnaissance, and artillery fire correction.
General
Class: Helicopter Gun ship & Combat Transport
Crew: Four (Pilot, co-pilot/gunner, flight engineer / communications technician and a secondary gunner) Two additional crew-members are often carried to man door-guns.
Troops: Ten Troops
Cargo: Limited, 544 kg instead of passengers. Can carry 726 kg if the helicopter does not carry door gunners. The helicopter can sling up to 315 kg underneath. Cargo loads do not include external hard points.
Dimensions & Weight
Height: 4.6 m
Body Width: 3.04 m
Wingspan: 5.23 m
Main rotors: 15.2 m
Length: 16.8 meters
Weight: 9.1 metric tons fully loaded
Performance
Maximum speed: 331 km/h
Range: 510 km
Service ceiling: 4,680 m
Armament
Internal guns: Flexible twin-barrel HIA Type 2 20L. 450 rounds of ammunition.
[2] K1-b 12.7mm passenger compartment window mounted machine guns
External stores:
Total payload is 1,710 kg of external stores.
Inner hardpoints can carry at least 525 kg
Outer hardpoints can carry up to 280 kg
Bomb-load:
Bombs within weight range 500 kg.
Submunition/mine dispenser pods
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