10 Utility Helos

8/13/2019 10 Utility Helos

1/4

armada INTERNATIONAL 3/200810

Utility Helos Witha PurposeUtility Helos Witha Purpose

Slender, tandem-seat dedicated attack helicopters were developed in the 1960sbecause the armed-Huey gunships (Bell UH-1B/C Hogs) were not fast enoughto escort the troop carriers (UH-1D/H Slicks) in Vietnam. The high cost andinflexibility of dedicated attack designs is now encouraging the development ofarmed, sensor-equipped versions of utility helicopters.

Roy Braybrook

The attack helicopter went through asecond major phase of developmentas defence planning moved to a war in

central Europe, in which the need was tokill multiple tanks per sortie in day/nightall weather conditions and a target-richenvironment. The second generation ofdedicated attack helicopters are conse-quently heavy and expensive.

In the very different context of 21stCentury wars, the overall result is limitedoperational flexibility, due to the smallnumber of these aircraft that can be

afforded by the majority of operators,and the nature of their weapon systemsand crew accommodation.

Like traditional fixed-wing fighter air-craft, the attack helicopter provides adevastating firepower directly ahead.However, it is vulnerable to side attacks,having only two pairs of eyes to detectthreats, and only a gun turret to providelateral fire.

In addition, the attack helicopter haslittle value in secondary roles. Only theMil Mi-28 has a second cabin for two orthree additional personnel, to transportground crew or recover downed aircrew.

Up to four personnel have been carriedexternally on attack helicopters in simu-lated short-range rescue operations.However, in paramilitary missions thereis a need for an armed helicopter that can

Barrelled Armament

At the lightweight end of the machinegun range, FN Herstal produces the 7.62-mm Mag 58M or M240D, which weighs12.5 kg and fires 700 to 1000 rd/min, withan effective range of 1500 metres. TheTMP-5 pod houses two of these guns.

Of the electrically powered Gatling

gun series originally developed by Gener-al Electric, most have been taken over byGeneral Dynamics Armament & Techni-cal Products. The exception was the six-barrel 7.62-mm M134 or Gau-2 Minigun,which could fire at up to 7200 rd/min. Over10,000 were manufactured, but it demon-strated poor reliability. The gun was con-sequently taken over and extensively re-engineered by Dillon Aero.

The Dillon-improved gun, with rate offire restricted to 3000 rd/min, was adoptedby the US Army in 2003 under the desig-nation M134D. It weighs 20.5 kg in fixedform. The M134D carries the US Navy

designation Gau-17/A as a pintle-mount-ed door gun for the Bell UH-1N.

Rotar

y-wing

Modern offspring of the7.62-mm Minigun, theM134D re-engineered by

Dillon Aero

insert and recover personnel and bring

back prisoners, which requires a cabinseating at least six.

The global war on terrorism, andincreasingly important paramilitaryactions against piracy, illegal fishing andsmuggling, are creating needs for afford-able utility helicopters armed with (as thevery minimum) light automatic weapons.Ideally, they should have provisions forcannon, rocket projectiles and light-weight guided missiles, plus laser targetmarking and sensors for day/night sur-veillance and reconnaissance from a safestandoff distance.

The following review looks at some

examples of armament, sensors and plat-forms that can fulfil such needs.

Exhibited as anoption for the MilMi-24/35, thisthree-Gatling podcombines one four-barrel 12.7-mmYakushev-BorsovYak-B or 9A-624gun with a pair offour-barrel 7.62-mm Shipunov

GShG-7.62s.(Armada/RB)


2/4


3/4

14 armada INTERNATIONAL 3/2008

Rotar

y-wing

mercial Raytheon thermal imager. Lock-heed Martin has meanwhile unveiled itslaser-guided Hellfire Junior or DirectAttack Guided Rocket (Dagr), whichwould provide all the Hellfire modes,including lock-on-after-launch and pro-grammable laser coding.

Kongsberg is collaborating with Mag-ellan/Bristol Aerospace on a precision-guided rocket (CRV7-PG). Elbit Systemshas announced a Star laser guidance kitfor 68/70 mm rockets. Russias laser-guid-ed 122-mm S-13L is referred to in variousaircraft brochures. The heavyweight 240mm Nudelman S-25L is reportedlyalready in production, and provides arange of seven kilometres. There are ref-erences to an S-25LD development witha range of twelve km.

Guided Missiles

Guns and rocket projectiles generallysuffice for defence suppression, but utili-ty helicopters may also require a dedicat-ed anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW).Since all vertical take-off aircraft areweight-critical, the complete missile

installation should be as light as possible.Likewise, since the helicopter is multi-role, the weapon system should requirelittle skill on the part of the crew.

Lightweight western ATGWs includethe 45.4/48.2-kg laser-homing LockheedMartin Hellfire II, the 23-kg wire-guidedRaytheon Tow-2B Aero, the 24-kg wire-guided MBDA Hot 3 and the 49-kg MBDAPars-3 LR with imaging-infrared guidance.Whereas the Hot 3 has a maximum rangeof 4000 metres, the Tow-2B Aero can reach4500 metres. The Pars-3 LRs range is 6000metres but it has development potential for8000 metres, which is the nominal range of

the supersonic Hellfire II.

The 26-kg Rafael Spike-ER employsimaging-infrared guidance with a fibre-optic link that allows the operator toswitch targets in flight. The missile weighs33 kg in its container and a launcher withfour rounds weighs 187 kg. Maximumrange is 8000 metres.

Russias latest offering is the 50-kglaser beam-riding KBP 9M121 Vikhr (AT-16) tube-launched supersonic missile,which has a range of ten km. It replacesthe 35-kg KBM 9M114 Kokon (AT-6) andits marginally supersonic 42.5-kg 9M120Ataka-V (AT-9) derivative, both of whichuse the Shturm-V radio semi-active com-mand-to-line-of-sight (salcos) guidancesystem. The 9M114 and 9M120 haveranges of 5000 and 6000 metres respec-tively. Better penetration and a choice ofguidance systems are provided by theKBM 9M123 Krizantema (AT-15), which(with a sensor turret by UOMZ of Eka-terinburg) will equip the Mi-28M.

Air-to-air missiles are a low priorityfor helicopters but may be needed forself-defence or to engage (for instance)low-speed aircraft used by smugglers. Asfor other weapons, light weight is essen-

tial, which in this context implies infraredhoming to achieve the small miss distanceneeded by a small warhead.

The 87-kg Raytheon Aim-9 Side-winder series, although employed on theUS Marine Corps AH-1W, is probablytoo heavy for general use. The lighter43.5-kg Molniya/Vympel R-60M (AA-8)has been proposed in modified forms(Izdeliye 62V and 64V) for helicopterapplications, but there appear to be con-cerns over its terminal effectiveness.

The best solution appears to be the useof man-portable surface-to-air missilessuch as the 10.4-kg Raytheon Fim-92

Stinger, the 10.8-kg KBM 9M39 Igla, and

the 18.7-kg MBDA Mistral. Of these, theMistral delivers the heaviest warheadover the longest range (6500 metres).

Sensors

One of the leaders in stabilised multi-spectral imaging systems is L-3 Wescam,which produces the MX turret family. In2007 the companys MX-15Di turret wasselected by AgustaWestland as the elec-tro-optical laser designator system forBritains Future Lynx, which is due toenter service with the British Army in2013 and the Royal Navy in 2014. Othercompetitive wins included selection ofthe MX-15i for the French GendarmerieEurocopter EC135 and the LatvianNational Armed Forces Mil Mi-8MTV1and the MX-15 for the Royal Nether-lands Air Force Boeing CH-47F.

Amongst the relatively recent newcomers in the helicopter armament world is the KBPlaser beam-rider 9M121 Vikhr that speeds an eight-kg anti-armour warhead to arange of ten kilometres in 25 seconds. (KBP)

One of the latest anti-tank guidedweapons is the MBDA Pars-3 LR, animaging-infrared missile also known asthe Trigat-LR. It has a range of 6000metres with development potential for8000 metres. (MBDA)

Upgraded by ElbitSystems, thisRomanian Army IAR-Brasov Puma-330 isequipped with an EOPelectro-optical pod,Midash (ModularIntegrated Display andSight Helmet), 20-mmNexter THL20 turret,57-mm S-5 rocketpod, Vympel R-60M

air-to-air missile andRafael Spike-ER anti-tank missiles.(Armada/RB)

Another leader is Flir Systems, whoseBrite Star II day/night sensor with laserdesignator/ranger has been selected asthe target acquisition sensor system forthe US Army Bell ARH-70A Arapaho. Ithas also been chosen for the US NavysNorthrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout

drone. The baseline Brite Star saw opera-tional use in Operation Iraqi Freedom in2003 when two UH-1Ns of the USMarine Corps HMLA-169 squadronwere equipped with these turrets aheadof service clearance.

Another Flir Systems product-line isthe Star Safire series of multi-sensor sur-veillance turrets. In 2007 the companyannounced an order for its AAQ-22 StarSafire HD turrets to equip helicopters ofthe Colombian Air Force. That service hadrecently purchased 15 UH-60L BlackHawks to assist in the fight against narco-terrorists, adding to its fleet of UH-1s,

Huey IIs and Mil Mi-17s. The Star SafireHD system uses a 1500-mm focal lengthfor infrared and visible light sensors. It canbe configured with up to seven sensors, onemore than the AAQ-21 Star Safire III.


4/4

Platforms

Genuine multi-role capability requires acertain cabin volume and payload, theminimum figures depending on individ-ual service requirements.

At the lower end of the Eurocopterspectrum, the 2250-kg single-enginedAS550C3 Fennec and the 2600-kg twin-engined AS555 version have space forone pilot and five troops. They may alter-natively be equipped with a forward-fir-

AS532AL Cougar takes two pilots andup to 25 troops. Armament optionsinclude a side-firing cannon. The new11,000-kg EC725 derivative increasescapacity to 29 troops and is better suitedto hot/high operations.

The AgustaWestland military utilityrange extends from the 3000-kgA109Luh, which with two pilots takes sixtroops, to the 5330-kg Super Lynx 300,which takes nine, and the new 8000-kgAW149, which will take 16.

rel M134D or Gau-17/A, and the 12.7 mmGau-16/A (M2 Browning).

The US Army replaced the UH-1series with the 7700-kg Sikorsky UH-60ABlack Hawk. The series is exported as theS-70A, and over 3000 H-60/S-70s havenow been built (of which the US Armyhas 1668). The latest version for the USArmy is the 10,000-kg UH-60M (whichwill increase the Armys fleet to 1931).Sikorsky has worked with Elbit Systemson armed reconnaissance versions, suchas the AH-60L Arpia III for Colombia,with the Midass (Modular IntegratedDisplay and Sighting System) and Toplite

II day/night sensor and laser designa-tor/ranger. a

The US Armys Eads UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopter is a variant of the civilian

Eurocopter EC145, itself a development of the BK117. Initial deliveries are of themedevac version. (Eads)

The 12.7-mm heavymachine gun isexemplified here byan FN HerstalM3M in MFP(Medium FloorPintle) form on aEurocopter SuperPuma. The M3Mfires over 1000rd/min. (FN

Herstal)

The L-3 Wescam MX-15Di multi-spectral imaging turret has beenselected for the British servicesAgustaWestland Future Lynx, which isscheduled to enter service in2013/2014. (AgustaWestland)

The Bell ARH-70A,being developed toreplace the USArmys OH-58D, isto be equippedwith the FlirSystems Brite Star IIturret withday/night sensorsand laserdesignator/ranger.(Bell Helicopters)

ing 20-mm cannon and a 68-mm rocketlauncher. Other options include air-to-airand anti-tank guided missiles. The new2835-kg EC635 can hold seven troops orcarry two 20 mm gunpods.

Developed from the well-establishedBK117, the 3585-kg civil EC145 forms thebasis for the US Armys Eads NorthAmerica UH-72A Lakota. Although thisis unarmed, being intended for use in anon-combat environment, it is conceiv-able that an armed derivative of the

EC145 will appear at some stage.The 4.3-tonne Eurocopter AS565UB

Panther can accommodate two pilots andten troops. Toward the upper end of thecompanys utility range, the 9000-kg

The MD Helicopters Explorer is inbroadly the same class as the A109Luh,with a gross weight of 2835 kg and cabinaccommodation for six troops. The Com-bat Explorer for the Mexican Navy hasprovisions for a 12.7-mm Gau-19/AGatling gun and Hydra 70 rocket pods.

Over 16 000 examples of the BellUH-1 Huey series have been built, seat-ing up to ten troops. A variety ofupgrades are available from Bell, includ-ing the 4762-kg Huey II and the 8390-kgUH-1Y for the US Marine Corps. Thelatter is clearly capable of far greater pay-load-range performance, and is betterequipped to operate under hot/high con-ditions. The equipment of the UH-1Yincludes a Flir Systems Brite Star sensorturret and armament options include the7.62-mm M240D (Mag 58M) and six-bar-

Rotar

y-wing

armada INTERNATIONAL 3/200816

Documents

10 Utility Helos