Fleece’s Faves – Apache edition

Following the successes of the Ah-1 “Huey” Cobra during the Vietnam War, and the scrapping of the AH-58 Cheyenne attack helicopter program due to the Key West Agreement (a stupid piece of legislation forbidding the US Army from possessing fixed wing assets – the Cheyenne had stub-wings that actually provided lift during level flight, hence it was a “plane” not a chopper), the US Army desiring a reliable and organic anti-armor and close air support asset instituted an Advanced Attack Helicopter competition in which Bell and Boeing Helicopters participated.  The winner of said competition was the Boeing AH-64 Apache.

Armament

We might as well start with its reason for existence, its guns and missiles.  The Apache possesses one potent weapon, hunkering down under her profound nose, the M230 30mm Chain Gun.  Look closely at the picture – a chain gun IS NOT a gatling gun.  Gatling guns are used on aircraft for one purpose only, they have ungodly rates of fire.  A chain gun on the other hand is used for reliability.  Fighter jets’ primary weapon system is their Air to air missiles, they rarely use their guns for air combat, thus rate of fire is preferred and reliability is not so big an issue.  Conversely, an attack chopper’s gun is one of its primary systems, it must work all the time.

A chain gun is pretty cool.  The reason for the cool though enigmatic name (for the uninitiated) is because the bolt is actually operated by a chain that encompasses the whole bolt carrying mechanism.  As the weapon is fired, electrical connections make the chain revolve around the bolt carrier, basically forcing the system to seat and eject rounds as it operates – compared to a gas-fired weapon which uses the basic physics of explosive gas blowback to eject rounds.  The problem with gas operated systems is that they can jam, often forcing the operator to physically remove the jammed cartridge from the weapon before it can be fired again.  Obviously, if one looks at the picture, this would be quite a harrowing task in mid-flight considering the location of the weapon in proximity to the pilots.  Hence, a chain gun is the best solution for maintaining reliability during combat operations.

Enough of that.  The gun fires a 30mm round, which translates to a projectile a little over an inch wide.  This is a big round!  The Apache typically packs 1200 rounds of the M789 HEDP (High-Explosive Dual Purpose) round, capable of penetrating up to 2 inches of Rolled Homogenous Armor or in an anti-personnel application, a lethal radius of 10 feet, pretty impressive.  The gun fires around 300 rounds per minute, though it can max at 625 rpm.  The projectile flies at an awfully slow 800 m/s, rendering the standard effective range at about 1500 meters.

Probably the coolest thing about the gun system and the Apache in general, is how this weapon can be slaved to the pilots helmet system in the cockpit.  Using a monocle in his helmet, the pilot can target this gun simply by moving his head and looking at what he wants to shoot at, the weapon follows his every movement.  How neat is that?  Virtual reality in the 80’s.

Besides the gun, the Apache relies on a bevy of antitank Guided missiles to do its job of anti-armor support – this bird is a tank killer.  Capable of carrying up to 16 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, a typical combat load reduces this number in half to 8.  The Hellfire is a beast of a missile.  With a warhead of 20 pounds, and a range of over 8000 meters, there are not many tanks on the battlefield that can survive a strike from one of these missiles.

The Hellfire is a laser guided weapon.  This means it “rides” a laser beam from the Apache to the target.  The Apache has a separate targeting system for the Hellfires, called the TADS (Target Acquisition and Designation System).  This is an infrared, low-light Television and laser designating module that sits at the extreme front of the aircraft, operated by the co-pilot who sits front and below the pilot.  The beauty of the Hellfire is that it can use anyone’s laser designation, not just the originating chopper’s.  Thus, a single Apache or Oh-58 Kiowa Scout (a scout chopper commonly couple with Apache wings) can “lase” targets for multiple Hellfire missiles from multiple birds.

The Apache will also frequently equip 70mm Hydra rocket pods.  The 70mm Hydra rocket is an unguided “dumb” rocket used for area attack.  In a covering force role, the Apache will typically equip 38 of these rockets in two pods of 19.

Lastly, depending on the model of the Apache (see Longbow below), the helo can also equip AIM-92 Air to Air Stinger missiles for self-defense from other aircraft.

The Longbow

Besides having a really cool name, the Longbow Apache is a major upgrade over the standard chopper.  The most obvious difference is the bulbous millimeter wave radar dome mounted high above the main rotor.  This dome allows a single Apache, in a hull down position hidden by trees, buildings or a hill, to radar designate up to 128 individual targets at a range up to 8000 meters.  Coupled with the new dome, the Longbow Apaches possess a new digital data system that allows this targeting information to be transferred to other Apaches on the battlefield.  Equipped with an upgraded Longbow Hellfire, a fire and forget millimeter wave guided missile, these targets can quickly and efficiently be dispatched in one fail swoop by any number of birds within range.

Conclusion

No efficient fighting force can rely on an outside asset to efficiently provide the close air support it needs to protect its troops on the ground – the Army understood this and so desired an asset that would do the job.  As with most things the Army develops, the end product was far and away much better than ever considered possible.  The Apache and especially the Longbow Apache, is one of the most deadly anti-armor weapon systems on the planet.

The links

Lot of goodies this week, of course that means the world around us is declining faster than we can keep up with.  Ho-hum, we are all gonna die.

Republican Redefined – a most excellent piece on Herman Cain – POST OF THE WEEK

Always on Watch – a must see video for everyone reading this about the Muslim Brotherhood – seriously, please watch it

American and Proud – damn, White Supremacists are the biggest threat Iowa can come up with?

America’s Watchtower – Steve tells us how Oklahoma is in big trouble because of Obamacare

Be Sure You’re RIGHT, then Go Ahead – talks about Obama and his confused policy of supporting Jihadists in libya

Blog de KingShamus – KS gives us a funny post about Kinetic Military Actions

Bunkerville – more evidence of the Religion of Peace’s renowned tolerance for other faiths

Capitol Commentary – Harrison reacts to Bill Maher and Now in regards to one lady named Palin

Conservative Hideout – John gives us Patrick Henry’s famous Give me Liberty, or Give me Death speech

Conservatives on Fire – Jim begs for us evil Americans to stop killing him!  He has a map to prove it

motorcitytimes – debunks the Liberal econ myth that printing billions of the worthless paper formerly known as dollars does not cause inflation

NoOneofAnyImport – she wants to be a Manic Pixie Dream Girl…uhmm…go for it girl, own your success

Planet Moron – apparently he has a brother (no proof) and his bro wants to buy a Nissan Leaf (he seriously has no proof)

Political Realities – Larry points us to more Sharia creep in America, this time, Florida

Questioning with Boldness – tells us how Obama funded Qaddafi’s army a month before he decided the transvestite was a bad guy

RJJRDQ’s America II – more on Sharia creep, multiple examples here

The Sentry Journal – John is on a roll, two links on the same linky list – checkout his excellent piece on our true Moral Obligation

Spellchek – excellent analysis of the recent news about GE and their corporate taxes, or lack thereof

The Swash – Canada has generals?  Apparently so, cause one is in charge of the Libya op now

ThatMrgGuy’s Blog – more lies from our government, this time, on the housing market

The Daley Gator – must see short video about the Gay agenda in England’s schools, coming soon to America, guaranteed

New Blogs you should Checkout

Mr. Caps – excellent blog with fantastic writing, please visit and enjoy =)