ROTORCRAFT

AH-64 Apache

According to the Boeing website, the Apache Longbow (the AH-64 Apache with a fire-control radar) is "the most advanced multi-role combat helicopter for the US Army and a growing number of international defense forces."

A forceful killing machine, it has:
--Two turbo-shaft engines w/ a maximum cruise speed of 284 kilometers per hour
-- Laser, infrared, and other systems (including pilot night vision sensor) to locate, track, and attack targets
-- A combination of laser-guided precision Hellfire missiles, 70mm rockets, and a 30mm automatic cannon with up to 1,200 high-explosive, ammunition rounds

Nine nations (all US allies) have bought this helicopter for their respective defense forces:

First, the US Army itself has ordered more than 500 Apache Longbow rotorcraft through "multi-year contracts and follow-on purchases," with the first being delivered in April 1997. It is to be in production well into the next decade.

Between 1984 and 1997, Boeing produced 937 AH-64As for the US Army, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the United Arab. Singapore, another US ally, has also ordered Apaches in the past. Nearly 1,500 Apaches have been delivered to customers around the world since the Apache went into production.

The most notable sales lately have been to the Netherlands, which, despite some commonly known liberal laws (such as open drug policies), still has troops in Iraq! The first helicopter delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force was in May 1998. Nearly 200 new and manufactured AH-64Ds were ordered through December 2005.
Of course, this helicopter has seen action in both Iraq and Afghanistan, logging thousands of combat hours in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in the two countries.



CH-46E Sea Knight

You may have seen this one in the movie "Platoon." It was employed in the Vietnam War, and is the oldest type of helicopter currently flying on the "front-lines" of US military service. According to the Boeing website, ever since 1964, the "Frog" has served as the Marines' "medium-lift assault helicopter."

The fleet remains in service as a result of modification programs, mainly designed to improve corrosion resistance, increase "wear protection," and "improve component damage tolerance."
Some other improvements:
-- Larger fuel tanks, doubling mission radius from 148 kilometers to more than 297 kilometers
-- Cockpit compatibility with night-vision goggles
-- Emergency flotation systems
-- Upgraded engine condition control systems
-- Enhanced communication and navigation control systems

The helicopter moves troops and equipment in Marine combat assault missions, but there are other uses as well:
-- Medical evacuation
-- Aircraft recovery
-- Firefighting
-- Disaster relief
-- Search and rescue operations



CH-47D/F Chinook

The Chinook is primarily responsible for lifting heavy things. It's also charged with moving troops, artillery, ammunition, fuel, water, "barrier materials," supplies, and equipment on the battlefield. Secondary missions include medical evacuation, disaster relief, search and rescue, aircraft recovery, firefighting, parachute drops, heavy construction, and civil development.

These machines were introduced in 1962 as the CH-47 Chinook. Models A,B, and C were deployed to Vietnam. The first CH-47Ds were delivered in 1982 and were produced until 1994. According to Boeing’s website, they were a central element of the Gulf War in 1991, and "they continue to be the standard for the US Army in the global campaign against terrorism."

The CH-47F, an upgraded version of its older cousin, was developed in the mid-1990s and began production in 2003. It is designed to extend the life of the Chinook fleet up until 2030.

There are 15 countries in the world (not counting the US) which own and operate CH-47D Chinooks, with over 600 of them currently in action. South Korea, Japan, Australia, Spain, and Italy all fly the Chinook in addition to the nations listed above for the AH-64 Apache.



Canard Rotor / Wing

This little rotorcraft is under joint development by Boeing Phantom Works and DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). According to the Boeing website, the Canard Rotor / Wing (CR/W) is "a revolutionary aircraft that combines the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft with the flexibility of rotary-wing flight." Interestingly, "the CR/W's rotor is designed not only to spin during vertical takeoffs and landings but to stop turning during flight and convert to a fixed-wing for high-speed cruise."

The CR/W completed two successful testing flights on November 24 and December 3, 2003 at the US Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. There was a second testing flight in the summer of 2005.



HH-47 CSAR-X (Combat Search & Rescue) Helicopter

A more modern version of Boeing's Chinook, the HH-47 was selected by the US Air Force in November 2006 for as the new rotorcraft for its Combat Search & Rescue (CSAR) missions.

Boeing is to build 141 HH-47 aircraft at the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems' rotorcraft manufacturing facility in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, which is also home to the MH-47G Special Operations Chinook program, as well as the US Army CH-47F program.

Competitors Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin / Agusta Westland have protested the Air Force's decision to buy the Boeing HH-47.



MH-47E/G Special Operations Chinook

Another Chinook, Boeing is currently under contract from the US Army to produce at least 37 G-models, which will significantly increase the inventory of Special Operations Chinooks.

What's the difference between this Chinook and its cousins?
This one features a number of upgrades, including:
-- More efficient T55-GA-714A engines with Full Authority Digital Engine Control
-- Improved avionics
-- Improved airframe structure, which significantly reduces interior vibration
-- Improved air transportability

It is also equipped with M-134 Gatling "miniguns" and M-240D machine guns, so while it's capable of lifting heavy loads, it's just as capable as dropping heavy rounds of munitions onto perceived enemies.

The US Army Special Operations Command uses its current fleet of 34 Special Operations Chinooks (23 MH-47Es and 11 MH-47Ds) to "complete clandestine exfiltration and infiltration missions at low level, day or night, in all weather conditions."



UH-46D Sea Knight

The US Navy and Marines have used this rotorcraft since the 1960s. It carries out the following mission types:
-- Vertical replenishment (VERTREP)
-- Vertical on-board delivery (VOD)
-- Search and rescue (SAR)
-- Medical evacuation (MEDEVAC)
-- Combat support
-- Special-weapons carriage
-- Special warfare
-- Combat assault
-- General utility
-- Movement of troops, ammunition, and equipment on the battlefield

It can cruise at 248 kilometers per hour. It can climb 625 meters per minute and has a maximum load carrying capacity of 8,763 pounds.



V-22 Osprey

Just like the Canard reviewed above, the Osprey is "a multi-role combat aircraft which is designed to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft."

Unlike the Canard, however, the nacelles, or engine-enclosures, are in the fixed-wing position, so it looks and performs like a plane, but they can be shifted upward to make the aircraft look and perform like a helicopter. Very interesting.

It can carry 24 combat troops, or up to 20,000 pounds of internal cargo or 15,000 pounds of external cargo, and it can travel twice the speed of a helicopter. Its maximum speed range is between 463 and 555.6 kilometers per hour.

The V-22 is in production for the US Marines, US Air Force Special Operations, and the US Navy, by the Bell Boeing Program Office, located in Amarillo, Texas. It is managed and operated jointly by Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas, and Boeing Rotorcraft Systems in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Marines want 360 MV-22Bs to perform combat assault and combat support missions. The Air Force Special Operations Command wants at least 50 CV-22s configured for "terrain-following, low-level, high-speed flight in a variety of special operations missions." The US Navy wants 48 HV-22s that will perform several combat support missions.

The Marines have already, on March 3, 2006, established their first fleet of V-22s, dubbing them the "Thunder Chickens." The squadron has become fully operational this year, and was deployed to Iraq in 2007.

Production of the aircraft will continue throughout the next decade.