An Apache Longbow armed with 16 Hellfire missiles, eight under each wing.

AH-64A/D Apache Attack Helicopter, USA

The Apache is a twin-engined army attack helicopter developed by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing). It entered service with the US Army in 1984 and has been exported to Egypt, Greece, Israel, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

The US Army has more than 800 Apaches in service, and more than 1,000 have been exported. The Apache was first used in combat in 1989 in the US military action in Panama. It was used in Operation Desert Storm and has supported low intensity and peacekeeping operations worldwide including Turkey, Bosnia and Kosovo.

The AH-64D Longbow has been deployed by the US Army in Afghanistan as part of Operation Anaconda, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and, from June 2003, in South Korea.

Boeing AH-64 Apache

AH-64 Apache Helicopter Pic slide show

AH-64

The AH-64 is a two-seat attack helicopter powered by two General Electric T700 turboshaft engines, with high-mounted exhausts on either side of the rotor shaft. The crew sit in tandem, with the pilot sitting behind and above the gunner. The crew compartment is armoured against 20mm gunfire. The helicopter is armed with a 30mm M230 chain gun which is slaved to the gunner's helmet-mounted gunsight. The AH-64 carries a range of external stores on its stub-wing pylons, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles Hydra 70 general-purpose unguided 70mm rockets, and AIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles for defence. In case of emergency the pylons also have mounting points for personnel transfer.

Two major models of AH-64 Apache are in service in the US Army; AH-64A (USAR and ARNG) and AH-64D (Active). An AH-64B variant was designed for naval operation (Marine Corps), but never manufactured.[citation needed] As of 2007 the Marine Corps still uses the AH-1 Cobra. When development of the D model started, the corresponding radarless version initially had the designation AH-64C. However, since the only difference between the C model and the radar-equipped D model was the radar, which could be moved from one aircraft to another, a decision was made to not distinguish between the two versions, irrespective of the presence or absence of the radar. A number of other models have been derived from both AH-64A and AH-64D for export. The British-built Westland WAH-64 (assembled from kits purchased from Boeing) is based on the AH-64D with several different systems, including newer engines.

Built to endure front-line environments, it can operate during the day or night and in adverse weather using the integrated helmet and display sight system. The Apache is also equipped with some of the latest avionics and electronics, such as the Target Acquisition and Designation System, Pilot Night Vision System (TADS/PNVS), Black Hole passive infrared countermeasures, nap-of-the-earth (sic) navigation, and GPS.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Front view

General Dimentions

Apache Helicopter

Military Helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors consisting of two or more rotor blades. Helicopters are classified as rotorcraft to distinguish them from fixed-wing aircraft because the helicopter derives its source of lift from the rotor blades rotating around a mast. In fact, the word 'helicopter' originates from the Greek words elikoeioas (helical or spiral) and pteron (wing or feather).[1]

The primary advantages of the helicopter are due to its rotor, which provides lift in a vertical direction, giving it the ability to take off and land vertically and to maintain a steady hover in the air over a single point on the ground. This allows the helicopter to land to and take off from pinnacles and confined areas that airplanes are not able to use, including heliports in the middle of busy cities and rugged terrain in remote areas. The helicopter has traditionally been used as a rescue, medical evacuation and observation platform. Other operations that involve the use of helicopters are fire fighting, tours, logging, personnel transport, electronic news gathering, law enforcement, and military.

Although many helicopters were developed and built during the first half century of flight, some even reaching limited production, it wasn't until 1942 that a helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky became the first helicopter to enter full-scale production,[2] totalling over 400 copies. And even though most previous designs utilized more than one main rotor, it was the single main rotor with antitorque tail rotor configuration of this design that would come to be recognized worldwide as the helicopter.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia