Zephyr Net

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... ellation_3

DAMN!

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Centurian

yeah I was just reading it this morning. Bout time, it has no mission left.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

We knew ye well

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allah no longer exists, for I have killed him. You must worship me instead.

JDW has some additional details:

http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/jdw/jdw040223_2_n.shtml



Zephyr

I'm just going to sit here and cry.

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Centurian

That's like cutting the B-2 because it's an unconventional design.....

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allah no longer exists, for I have killed him. You must worship me instead.

I guess the Army, in its infinite wisdom, has determined that IR missiles present a larger threat to helo survivability then do radar missiles...

Have we ever lost a helo to RF SAMs? I think they are looking at the threat as it exists in Iraq and saying if those were Commanche's instead of Blackhawks, Kiowas, and Apaches they would still all have been shot down. Since a helo naturally works down low, RF SAMs are screened by terrain except at close range.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

Yes a RF SAM would be under minimum altitude for a helicopter operation whereas the MANPAD is devestating but its nothing that can't be solved with IR jamming and flares.

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Centurian

The biggest threat to a Helo is...

1) another Helo... threat consists of IR Missiles and cannon
2) Fighter... threat consists of IR and RF Missiles and cannon
3) AAA... Probably the lagest threat in an Iraqi type situation and has accounted for a majority of the losses...
4) MANPAD... IR threat that is second only to AAA in major threat.
5) RF SAM... threat consists of radar only guided missiles...

However the Comanche's stealth was more designed to hide it from search radars on the ground and in the air... not just to make it survivable against SAM threats...

However since there is no HUGE threat, like the former Soviet Union, that could continually field massive search radars on a scale to replace any losses, the mission it was designed for turly does not exist.

In today's world, the expected enemies have limited systems that can be isolated and destroyed before the Helo ever enter the airspace. They wont be defending agaisnt a massive armored thrust into their own operating areas...

CAG out...

Until North Korea.

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Centurian

North Korea's radar technology is out of date by 20+ years... THe newest system's are based on SOviet designs from teh 70s and have small numbers of them. Most are fixed sites and easy targets...

They have no $$$ to buy any up to date capabilities and have very very limited resources and no strategic reserves for fuel fo rthe armor they currently have, much less to use it in an offensive strike...

THey are an easy target for offensive helo operation...

was reading recently that one of the main missions for Comanche was to make deep strikes against search RADARs ala the Apache opening attack in ODS. We have a bunch of weapons now that can do that, seems like a stupid idea to begin with. Attack fixed targets with long range missles, much more efficient.

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Fighting for justice with brains of steel

Let your anger be like the monkey which hides inside the piniata.

But now if they recieve lend and lease type stuff from China and Russia you better believe '70s becomes up-to-date fast.

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Centurian

Yes and if the world is hit by a meteor tomorrow we will all die...

Its about the same odds that the NKs will receive any military aid from either Russia or China unless they have hard currency to pay for it... Also Chinese radar technology is quite far behind the west... The only way they could become a threat would be from teh RUssians who will not ever sell anything without hard $$$ income to pay for it. They are still hurting as much, if not more, then they were in 1992 when the Soviets collapsed...

You are also not realizing the current political situation on the Penisula... SOuth Korea is now a much more important trading partner to both the Russians and the Chinese then the NKs could ever hope to be... THe selling of modern weapons to Pyongyang with the current nuclear sitwation would hurt the Chinese and the Russians immensly as the SKs would cue them off from the importation of high technology and $$$ from the trade...

CAG out...