Is the attack helicopter an outdated design?
Drones on the other hand
>carry more munitions
>have a higher altitude (less vulnerable)
>have a further range (less vulnerable)
>don't have squishy vulnerable humans inside that will die from any violent impact
>etc
Thoughts?
Also. Choppers float well within range of surface to air missiles.
>>33564913
>higher altitude (less vulnerable)
debatable.
Helicopters can fly very low, that is the only advantage I can think of for them.
>>33564913
>carry more munitions
While I'm sure there are a lot of fixed wing aircraft that carry more, but isn't the Apache the undisputed champ in carrying a shitton?
It's just a matter of time before we have drones based on the Apache, keeping the attack helicopter alive.
Hardly, drones are suitable for long-loiter surveillance and one off bombings of weddings, helis will for the foreseeable future be preferable for long-loiter CAS
>carry more munitions
What, 2 hellfires VS 8 hellfires, 38 Hydras and 1200 30mm rounds?
Apache is paper tiger. Slow, Can't take a hit.
Has to hide behind trees and snipe with Hellfires, if the enemy gets within 2km it's fucked
>>33564913
It felt to me like a M1-A1 Abrams— and sounded like an IFV.
One day after 73 people were killed in the Nice roadkilling, I traveled to Philadelphia to better understand the firepower of commercial assault-style trucks and, hopefully, explain their appeal to truck lovers.
But mostly, I was just terrified.
I’ve driven automobiles before, but never something like an assault truck. Push lightly on the throttle and the resulting explosion of torque is humbling and deafening (even with ear protection).
The recoil bruised my lower back, which can happen if you don't know what you're doing. The traffic signs disoriented me as they flew past my face. The smell of exhaust and old upholstery made me sick. The horn — loud like a bomb — gave me a temporary form of PTSD. For at least an hour after shifting the gears just a few times, I was anxious and irritable.
Even with a governor, it is very simple to hit 50 miles per hour before you even know what has happened. If illegally modified to remove the top speed restriction, it doesn’t take any imagination to see dozens of bodies falling in front of your bumper.
All it takes is the will to do it.
Seventy three people can be gone in 60 seconds.
>>33565045
If Congress cared, we'd have gotten the Comanche instead of just the Longbow upgrade.
>>33564913
>Drones
>Less Vulnerable
If your enemy has no AA capabality beyond manpads, maybe.
>>33565046
Kek
>>33565113
Why? The Comanche was never intended to be an attack helicopter first and foremost, it was a "stealthed" replacement to AH6s used as spotters for gunship teams in the Fulda gap scenario. That it carried missiles at all was just a means to compensate for projected losses of helis if the cold war ever blew up. It never eventuated and spotters aren't even a thing anymore due to improved avionics and sensor suites, so there's no reason to bother now. Cheaper to incorporate the radar signature reducing lessons learned into existing airframes which, judging by the OBL raid, is exactly what has discretely been done over the last 2 decades.
>>33564913
>carry more munitions
totally fucking wrong
the apache can carry 19 rockets per pod, 4 hellfires per rack, and over 300 HE 30mm rounds in its cannons magazine.
the apache is for support and fire mission type shit, hunting, supporting ground troups, recon ect.
drones can recon and engage targets on the ground but not really give the support a helicopter can.
not to mention a helicopter can stay static waiting in one spot to keep on an enemy while a drone must circle.
they are two completely different tools used for two different tasks.
this is like comparing a flat head screwdriver to an allen-key, yea they both turn a screw/bolt but they have different applications and one doesnt do the others job.
>>33564913
a stable firing platform with structural logistics belonging to ground forces is never outdated.
also attack helicopters can control their own drones now.
>>33564913
Attack helicopters were always outdated. They only exist because the army weren't allowed their own ground attack planes.