The US "Longbow" Apache, the world's first comprehensive strength of armed helicopters, a veritable tank killer, the nemesis of ground armored targets. With its hard armor, tanks rampage across land and are known as the king of land warfare. The former Soviet Union had a huge tank fleet that made the other side daunting. But the appearance of gunships made tanks, the ground hegemon, no longer so scary.
In the world of gunships, Apache is definitely a worthy king. The Apache first flew in 1975 and has been in the sky for nearly five decades, and no helicopter has been able to surpass him. He is also the fastest and most concealed gunship in the world, one of the most advanced ever built. Apache came to this world on his sole mission to find enemies and destroy them.
In 1973, the U.S. Army wanted a more advanced helicopter more suitable for modern warfare, and the idea was that this helicopter could carry anti-tank missiles and possibly hunt multiple ground targets, such as armored vehicles, infantry on the ground, and so on. The US military tendered for domestic manufacturers such as Hughes Helicopters, Bell, Boeing, and Sikorsky.
In May 1989, the US military had a whim and installed a longbow radar antenna fairing model on the rotor shaft roof of an Apache armed helicopter for flight experiments. The results of the tests turned out to be almost impossible to control and stability of the helicopter, except for a little drag added in flight. In August 1993, the first Longbow Apache prototype flew for the first time.
In December 1989, eleven Apache helicopter gunships of the U.S. 82nd Division participated in Operation Justice in Panama. A total of two hundred hours of flight missions were carried out at that time, and seven Hellfire missiles were fired, all seven missiles hit.
In the early morning of January 17, 1991, when the coalition launched the first wave of air strikes in the Gulf War, it sent two groups of Apache helicopters to attack at low altitude, destroyed the early warning radar devices in Iraq, and attacked the Iraqi armed forces with its excellent air launch system and powerful fire devices at that time.
In March 2003, the United States launched Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. During this operation, Apache helicopter gunships delivered deep strikes on the fire of Afghan ground forces. However, in one of the operations, the Apache helicopter gunship formation, which was providing fire support from the air, was attacked by a large number of RPG rockets, and four of them were severely damaged and forced to return.
The Apache has three weapons systems, a Hellfire missile, a Sea Basilisk rocket launcher, and a cannon. The Hellfire missile and Sea Serpent rocket launchers are mounted on short wings on either side of the Apache fuselage, each with two weapon hardpoints, each hardpoint can be hung on a Hellfire M-Bar 299 missile launcher, or a Sea Serbis 70 rocket launcher.
The Hellfire missile can be said to be the nemesis of the tank, although the tank has thick armor, and the thickness of the armor around some tanks can even reach about one meter, but the defense on the top of the tank is relatively weak. And the Hellfire missiles carried by Apache can directly attack the top of the tank from above, basically one Hellfire is enough to destroy a heavily armed tank.
Sea Basilisk rockets are weapons designed to attack unarmored targets, such as transport vehicles, equipment, offensives, buildings, infantry fire points, etc., are the targets of Sea Basilisk attacks. That said, these two killer features give Apache the ability to attack all types of ground targets. One Apache can carry eight Hellfire missiles and thirty-eight rockets at once, which is also the most common configuration for Apache missions.
Under the bow of the Apache was equipped with an M230 30-mm electric cannon, which had a range of up to one kilometer and could carry 1,200 rounds at a time. Don't think that 1,200 rounds is a lot, you must know that this cannon can shoot out in a minute, more than 600 rounds. This button on the Apache controls the number of bullets fired by the cannon at a time, choosing ten, twenty, fifty rounds and one hundred, or emptying the bullets at once.
Another very high-tech fixation in the Apache fire system is the driver's helmet. With this helmet, wherever the driver looks, the cannon will follow and turn on its own, so that attacking the target becomes very simple. Just look at the target and press the rocket.
Powerful firepower can make enemies fearful, but solid defense is the guarantee of a safe return. The Apache fuselage used three different bulletproof materials for the bulletproof layer alone, making three bulletproof layers, which allowed the entire fuselage to withstand the attack of 12.7 mm ammunition and a small amount of 23 mm ammunition. Even the most vulnerable main rotor boom of an average helicopter can withstand 12.7 mm armor-piercing shells, as well as a small number of direct hits from 23 mm high-explosive shells.
In the event that the engine's reduction gearbox was broken down and the lubricating oil was completely lost, the Apache could continue to operate for thirty minutes. The Apache is also currently the fastest gunship in the world, with speed, attack and defense. That's why he's the number one gunship in the world. It is hard to imagine that this war machine, which fears the enemy, is the product of more than forty years ago.
