what stops helicopter bieng shot down like flies in iraq and afgan? i mean 1 RPG and its fugkged if you know what i mean, what keeps them in the air? day after day?
2007-09-27 10:25:22 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
try and prenounce it, fuked fugkged? whatever anyone know???
2007-09-27 10:33:23 · update #1
what was the point answering lisab?? i mean siriously, "i know but im not going to tell."
2007-09-27 10:37:39 · update #2
We need these to medically evacuate soldiers off the roads and to the hospitals. We are getting better at catching these bad guys. But we need to keep these in the air because we need to get hurt soldiers to aid as quickly as possible. There are other things we have done to improve this but I can not discuss this on a public forum. Just know the Army is taking care of them. Trust me!
2007-09-27 12:03:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
RPG's are not very effective as anti air weapons, it is a "Dumb fire" (travels in a straight line and has no tracking ability) and has a relatively short range. To actually hit a helicopter with one would actually be a lucky shot, or the copter was relatively stationary and close by
RPGs are also "Light weapons" meaning they can cause damage but it is not like a true missile. an RPG can damage a chopper and even disable one, but only if it hits the right areas, modern helicopters are pretty durable. Also RPGs are not known for thier reliabilty, one could blow a hole in the side of a tank the next just leaves a burn mark.
Most insurgents are using small arms (rifles and machine guns), these can have some impact on a chopper but are often ineffective. Plus the fact is most insurgents are not well trained.
Most modern helicopters are preaty durrable and can general take a lot of punishment.
2007-09-27 18:53:50 · answer #2 · answered by Stone K 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do get shot down, but the range difference can be drastic. The helicopters are very high in the air and the weapons can target objects and shoot farther than the enemy. Many non armed craft fly at night. There also isn't that much fighting and weapons people think there are. Many of the weapons have already been taken off the street. The enemy no longer has the ability to take out Iraqi police stations because they no longer have the men or equipment like they had.
2007-09-27 17:51:23 · answer #3 · answered by gregory_dittman 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
RPG's are not even designed to be surface to air, they started modifying a plate that attached to the back of the launcher deflecting the blast away from a person's back, they started using them in the modern area in Somalia in the early 90's, but it is not perfected enough, if you see a helicopter shot down in Iraq or other mideast country they probably got lucky.
Most helicopters are downed due to mechanical or human error, the enemy will release propaganda saying they were shot down, and take credit for it, but when we go in and recover the wreckage, you can tell it was a crash not a rocket that caused the damage.
2007-09-27 18:48:40 · answer #4 · answered by tdr8256 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While in Iraq I traveled by Blackhawk about 4-6 times a week. I never once encountered RPG fire. The helicopters are equipped with defense systems, and I have seen these defense systems operated a few times.
In answer to your question. I would probably just say that the insurgents are just incompetent to shoot down helicopters with an RPG.
2007-09-27 17:40:37 · answer #5 · answered by James W 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A 3 hour trip in a convoy can take 20 minutes in a helicopter. There are no IED's sitting around up in the air. So for moving personnel between certain sites, helicopters are generally preferred. Sometimes cargo is moved on Chinooks as well, depending on the size and the destination, etc.
What keeps them in the air day after day, in addition to various technological safeguards, are well-trained and experienced pilots. There's nothing more fun to me than combat takeoffs in Blackhawks.
2007-09-28 03:00:52 · answer #6 · answered by The Babe is Armed! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off helicopters arent getting "shot down like flies." There have been losses yes, but mostly due to mechanical failures or human error.
Helicopters do have countermeasures for some anti-air weapons. Chaff for radar guided weapons, flares for "heat seaking" weapons for example. These dont work on "fire and forget" weapons...that is non guided. RPGs, AK-47s weapons such as that work by pointing and shooting. It takes skill and alot of luck to hit a flying helicopter with one of those weapons, the speed and manuvering makes them a tough target to hit. It happens, but its not as easy as you may think. mostly its just dumb luck if a helicopter gets hit. Plus most of the airframes we use are pretty tough. Unless a major component is hit its not going to send a helicopter to the ground.
2007-09-27 18:01:54 · answer #7 · answered by gooslegeek 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I did the MOS that save a lot of helicopters but can't give out details because it is a need to know basis and I have a secret clearance that I'm not willing to lose.
Did you not read the answer?
Helicopters have several defense systems in place. It depends on the weapon system the enemy is using to see what countermeasure may be used.
2007-09-27 17:35:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Defense systems , counter measures , weapons ...training.
2007-09-27 17:52:30 · answer #9 · answered by Peiper 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good question and I don't know what you mean with 'fugkged.' You are assuming that we are all as smart as you are.
2007-09-27 17:31:30 · answer #10 · answered by !truth! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋