Spitting fire, literally

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wants the new helicopters to carry an electronic warfare protection suite and a radar-warning receiver capable of intercepting, identifying and prioritising multiple airborne and ground-based radio frequency emitters.

Hard-selling their machinery, each vendor claims that they have the best technology available in their armoury. US aircraft maker Boeing has offered the latest version of the Apache AH64 to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Apache’s chief function is to take out heavily armoured ground targets, such as tanks and bunkers. To inflict this kind of damage, you need some heavy firepower, and to do it from a helicopter, you need an extremely sophisticated targeting system.

The Apache’s primary weapon, the

Hellfire missile, meets these demands. Each missile is a miniature aircraft, complete with its own guidance computer, steering control and propulsion system. The payload is a highly explosive, copper-lined-charge warhead powerful enough to burn through the heaviest tank armour in existence.

Another cool feature of the Apache is its sophisticated sensor equipment. The helicopter detects surrounding ground forces, aircraft and buildings using a radar dome mounted to the mast. The radar dome uses millimeter radio waves that can make out the shape of anything in range.

Eurocopter’s Tiger is an air-to-air combat and fire support medium-weight (6 tonne) helicopter fitted with two engines. It is daytime and night combat capable and three basic parameters were taken into account right from the start of the development phase: low (visual, radar and infrared) detectability, which provides superior survivability on the battlefield, maximum efficiency of the weapons and the associated fire control systems without heavier workload for the crew, and an optimised logistic concept offering minimum possession costs. The Tiger is fitted with a 30-mm gun turret; 68-mm submunition rockets, and air-to-air

Mistral missiles. Bell’s AH-1Z comes from the proven AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopter line. It features higher loads, maneuverability, flexibility, full digital glass cockpit, helmet mounted displays, advanced electronic warfare protection suite, and a crashworthy fuel system to reduce risk of fire over current AH-1Ws.