TAC HEL
- Thread starter George Wallace
- Start date
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 60
UAVs hold much promise both now and in the future. The low unit cost, relative to manned A/C along w/ the ability of any element to be able to utilize them any time they want to is a real plus.
IMHO I think we will see a much greater utilization of UAVs for both surv and att in the future. I see these little creatures being piloted by NCMs because lets face it, there is no requ to be an Officer type to operate a video game.
As the US Army has shown, there is now requirement to have Officers pilot helos either.
No offence to Officer types.
IMHO I think we will see a much greater utilization of UAVs for both surv and att in the future. I see these little creatures being piloted by NCMs because lets face it, there is no requ to be an Officer type to operate a video game.
As the US Army has shown, there is now requirement to have Officers pilot helos either.
No offence to Officer types.
- Reaction score
- 25
- Points
- 430
Just a quick impression of mine on UAVs and the operator being limited to what he sees on a monitor. I equate that to 'blinders' being used on a horse. I would think that although one may cost a UAV as cheaper than a manned Helo, the overall cost of machines required to replace those shot down, because of the limited vision of the operator, will add up to more.
In some cases, going cheap is more expensive.
Gw
In some cases, going cheap is more expensive.
Gw
- Reaction score
- 7,353
- Points
- 1,160
Maybe the answer to that George is to fly them in pairs or in flights. After all would you send an individual helicopter forward? With ano air or ground cover?
And don't helos have blind spots that limit vision? How about crew members, in flight, mounted or dismounteed using binoculars or other Vision Devices, like NVGs, CCDs, Thermal Imagers? It seems to me that all of the above can tend to produce the blinkered effect you are speaking about. Ins't the DS solution to keep in mind those limitations when assigning arcs of observation and fire and ensure that the entire area of interest is kept under observation?
From what I can gather in Iraq, the US Army re-evaluated their helo doctrine to keep attack helos behind the FEBA after that raid that basically saw an entire Helo Brigade shot up.
And don't helos have blind spots that limit vision? How about crew members, in flight, mounted or dismounteed using binoculars or other Vision Devices, like NVGs, CCDs, Thermal Imagers? It seems to me that all of the above can tend to produce the blinkered effect you are speaking about. Ins't the DS solution to keep in mind those limitations when assigning arcs of observation and fire and ensure that the entire area of interest is kept under observation?
From what I can gather in Iraq, the US Army re-evaluated their helo doctrine to keep attack helos behind the FEBA after that raid that basically saw an entire Helo Brigade shot up.
- Reaction score
- 7,353
- Points
- 1,160
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.4308111.1089903978.QPadasOa9dUAAESlMZk&modele=jdc_34
This is further to my comments about flying multiple UAVs. Apparently somebody has beat me to the punch again.
Oh well, always a dollar short and a day late.
Cheers
This is further to my comments about flying multiple UAVs. Apparently somebody has beat me to the punch again.
Oh well, always a dollar short and a day late.
Cheers
- Reaction score
- 7,353
- Points
- 1,160
http://www.defense-aerospace.com/cgi-bin/client/modele.pl?session=dae.4308111.1089903978.QPadasOa9dUAAESlMZk&modele=jdc_34
Here's an article on how the USMC is using TacHel in Iraq on Convoy Escort. They are flying a mixed pair of UH-1N
Huey and a AH-1W Super Cobra.
This one doesn't say why they are using mixed pairs but another article about Afghanistan suggested that the UH-1Ns lay-out with the two door gunners gave the pair better situational awareness, being able to cover a wider arc of observation.
This article also implies that having a helo around for immediate medevac if the convoy is bumped may be something of a morale enhancer, if not a booster. Your survival chances just improved a lot.
Here's an article on how the USMC is using TacHel in Iraq on Convoy Escort. They are flying a mixed pair of UH-1N
Huey and a AH-1W Super Cobra.
This one doesn't say why they are using mixed pairs but another article about Afghanistan suggested that the UH-1Ns lay-out with the two door gunners gave the pair better situational awareness, being able to cover a wider arc of observation.
This article also implies that having a helo around for immediate medevac if the convoy is bumped may be something of a morale enhancer, if not a booster. Your survival chances just improved a lot.
Similar threads
