Sierra Mike
12-21-2002, 06:31 PM
Here's what Saddam and others will be facing in the 21st Century...
On the left: the AH-64D Apache Longbow (http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/ah64d/flash.html), essentially an upgunned AH-64A with a mast-mounted millimeter wave radar array above the main rotor disk and armed with true fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles. One of these bad boys can destroy a sizeable portion of a tank battalion in less than two minutes; the big record when I was flying AH-64As was ten minutes to designate and put 18 rounds of steel on target.
On the right is the RAH-66 Comanche (http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/rah66/flash.html), the new armed reconnaissance chopper that will be the Apache Longbow's faithful companion in cross-FLOT (Forward Line of Troops) excursions known as "grand tours." The RAH-66 will replace the trusty yet incredibly slow OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (http://www.bellhelicopter.com/products/MilitaryHelicopters/oh58d/), bringing with it advanced battlefield optics and a full digitized information suite, not to mention various and sundry command and control capabilities to allow the Air Battle Captain or the birds sipping gourmet coffee back at the tactical operations center to see what the heck is going on out in the engagement area in real time. The RAH-66 also has internal weapons stores, which allow it to not only see but shoot.
Damn....all these new toys, and I can't even play with them!
SM
On the left: the AH-64D Apache Longbow (http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/ah64d/flash.html), essentially an upgunned AH-64A with a mast-mounted millimeter wave radar array above the main rotor disk and armed with true fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles. One of these bad boys can destroy a sizeable portion of a tank battalion in less than two minutes; the big record when I was flying AH-64As was ten minutes to designate and put 18 rounds of steel on target.
On the right is the RAH-66 Comanche (http://www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/rah66/flash.html), the new armed reconnaissance chopper that will be the Apache Longbow's faithful companion in cross-FLOT (Forward Line of Troops) excursions known as "grand tours." The RAH-66 will replace the trusty yet incredibly slow OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (http://www.bellhelicopter.com/products/MilitaryHelicopters/oh58d/), bringing with it advanced battlefield optics and a full digitized information suite, not to mention various and sundry command and control capabilities to allow the Air Battle Captain or the birds sipping gourmet coffee back at the tactical operations center to see what the heck is going on out in the engagement area in real time. The RAH-66 also has internal weapons stores, which allow it to not only see but shoot.
Damn....all these new toys, and I can't even play with them!
SM