Military helicopter

To minimise development costs the basic airframes can be stretched and shortened, be updated with new engines and electronics and have the entire mechanical and flight systems mated to new fuselages to create new aircraft.

Armour, fire suppression, dynamic and electronics systems enhancements are invisible to casual inspection; as a cost-cutting measure some nations and services have been tempted to use what are essentially commercial helicopters for military purposes.

For example, it has been reported that China is carrying out a rapid enlargement of its assault helicopter regiments with the civilian version of the Russian Mil Mi-17.

[1] These helicopters without armour and electronic counter measures will function well enough for training exercises and photo opportunities but would be suicidal to deploy in the assault role in actual combat situations.

To enable them to find and identify their targets, some modern attack helicopters are equipped with very capable sensors[2] such as a millimeter wave radar system.

The benefit of using helicopters for these operations is that personnel and cargo can be moved to and from locations without requiring a runway for takeoffs and landings.

The idea is to use the helicopters to transport and land a large number of troops and equipment in a relatively short amount of time, in order to assault and overwhelm an objective near the LZ.

With modern sensor suites, they are also able to provide terminal guidance to anti-tank guided weapons, laser-guided bombs and other missiles and munitions fired by other armed aircraft.

Among the first practical uses of helicopters when the Sikorsky R-4 and R-5 became available to British and American forces was deployment from navy cruisers and battleships, at first supplementing and later replacing catapult-launched observation aircraft.

Another niche within the capability of the early helicopters was as plane guard - tasked with the recovery of pilots who had ditched near an aircraft carrier.

Initially, helicopters operated as weapons delivery systems, attacking with air-launched torpedoes and depth charges based on information provided by its parent and other warships.

Today, maritime helicopters such as the Sikorksy SH-60 Seahawk and the Westland Lynx are designed to be operated from frigates, destroyers and similar size vessels.

In the British, Spanish, and Italian navies, the larger helicopters form the main anti-submarine strength of carrier air wings.

[10] High-intensity warfare is characterized by large arrays of conventional armed forces, including mass formations of tanks, with significant air defenses.

[7] In counter-insurgency (COIN) warfare, the government force establishes its presence in permanent or temporary military bases from which to mount patrols and convoys.

Emplaced insurgents and local sympathisers may observe such facilities covertly and gather intelligence on the schedules and routes of patrols and convoys.

With this intelligence the insurgents can time their operations to avoid the COIN forces or plan ambushes to engage them, depending on their own tactical situation.

Patrols need not start and end in the same place (the main entrance of the local compound), nor do supply convoys need follow the same roads and highways.

During the Troubles, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) became adept at avoiding conventional, fixed roadblocks and patrols.

[7] In the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq helicopters have been used as aerial supply trucks and troop transports to prevent exposure to ambushes set by the Iraqi insurgency.

[11] Due to the cost and complexity of training and support requirements, insurgent forces rarely have access to helicopters.

In Japan, the three main manufacturers of helicopters are the aviation arms of the Japanese conglomerates Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji Heavy Industries.