Based upon what we are seeing in Ukraine, it would appear the the era of the helicopter on the contested battlefield is nearing its end or certainly should be. But what the heck, it is only tax payer’s or funny money being spent on the equipment. However, everyone should watch a couple of dozen fatal helicopter shoot downs readily visible on U tube from Ukraine and watch pilots and passengers die horrible deaths in real time.
1 reply
Actually, the new technology in guided projectiles of all sorts is making any type of attractive presence in a contested area (think planes, ships, tanks, APCs, you name it) an iffy proposition for long term survival. Warfare is moving back to the type of losses in manpower & material that prevailed in the pre-digital era. The only safe combatants are the ones sitting at consoles well to the rear…as long as the other guys don’t find out where they are.
1 reply
The ones I trained in 2015 sat at consoles in the 48 contiguous and operated equipment out of Bagram.
You read my mind, Dale. Shoulder launched missiles have had a devastating effect on the Russian helicopter fleet in Ukraine. Fighter jets have had enough problems, but the rotary fleet, including attack helicopters, has taken a real beating. And, since many of those SLMs are American made, the US Army should be painfully aware of what impact they could have on American helicopters and tanks. Even the Navy should be concerned about surface ships in light of what the Harpoon missiles have done. Of equal concern is that these weapons have had great success in the hands of relatively inexperienced soldiers and drone flyers. Imagine what would be possible if a force of well trained soldiers was using them. This has forced the Russians into using longer range stand-off missile systems to terrorize civilian targets, similar to what the Germans did to Britain in WWII with their V1 and V2 rockets. Military planners should be very interested in what all this will do to our own military forces for future conflicts.