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RAH-66 Comanche, US Army
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Photography by Action Asia Photo |
The Comanche RAH-66 was the US Army's new Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopter being developed by Boeing Sikorsky. The Comanche prototype first flew in January 1996 and under construction were 11 aircraft to be completed by 2006. Low rate initial production of 78 helicopters in three batches was begin in 2007. The armed reconnaissance version was scheduled for operating capability in 2009 and the heavy attack Block II version in 2011. The US Army requirement was for 650 Comanche helicopters. The $39 billion Comanche program was intended to be the Army's next generation of armed reconnaissance helicopter. However, the RAH-66 Comanche was cancelled on February 23rd, 2004. The Army said it would use the $14.6 billion earmarked for 121 Comanches between 2004 and 2011 to buy 796 additional Black Hawk and other helicopters and to upgrade and modernize 1,400 helicopters already in the fleet. The Army wants new proposals to develop and build a new armed reconnaissance aircraft. In an armed reconnaissance mission, Comanche can recognize and identify targets and digitally transmit the information to the battlefield commander in near real-time, select the optimum force deployment and co-ordinate the attack. The airframe is crashworthy and ballistically tolerant to 23mm gunfire. The radar cross section has been minimized, by the precisely shaped fuselage build of composites and internal weapons configuration. The rear rotor is able to withstand impacts by 12.7mm rounds and provides a 180° turn in 4.7 seconds in hover mode and an 80 knot snap-turn-to-target in 4.5 seconds. The helicopter has two identical cockpits for the pilot and the co-pilot, which are sealed and have a positive pressure air system for protection against chemical and biological warfare. The cockpit is fitted with a pilot's night vision system and the pilots have a wide field of view Helmet Integrated Display Sighting System (HIDSS). HIDSS employs active matrix liquid crystal display technology. The targets are designated and the weapons fired from collective and side stick control push buttons. Each integrated cockpit has flat screen liquid crystal displays, a color display for a digital moving map system, tactical situation and night operation display. The helicopter carries its weapons internally and has a weapons bay on each side of the fuselage. The missiles are mounted on the weapon bay doors which open sideways. The internal weapon bay can be fitted with Stinger, Starstreak or Mistral air-to-air missiles; TOW II, Hot II or Longbow Hellfire air-to-ground missiles; Sura D 81mm, Snora 81mm or Hydra 70 rockets; or the Army Counter Air Weapon System. The number of missiles on each door mounting varies with a door able to hold three Hellfire or six Stinger missiles. The helicopter can be reconfigured with optional stub wings fitted with multiple weapon pylons which carry an additional four Hellfire or eight Stinger missiles. The Comanche is equipped with a turreted gun system that uses a three-barrel, 20mm Gatling gun capable of firing 750 or 1,500 rounds per minute but ammunition supply is only 500 rounds. Countermeasures include an Advanced Laser Warning Receiver and Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures as well as infrared jammers. Crew:
Pilot in rear, co-pilot/gunner in front
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