A gunship in
aviation may be in reference to an attack helicopter, such as a Mil
Mi-24 or an AH-64 Apache. Another application of the term for military
aircraft is more specific, describing an aircraft that circles its
target instead of performing strafing runs. Such aircraft have their
armament on one side harmonized to fire at the apex of an imaginary cone
formed by the aircraft and the ground when performing a banking turn.
Such gunships with an operational profile that relies on flying in
circles can only operate with the guarantee of air superiority.
Here is the list of most lethal and deadly gunships.
AC-130 SPECTRE
AC-130 gunship
is a heavily-armed ground-attack aircraft. The basic airframe is
manufactured by Lockheed, and Boeing is responsible for the conversion
into a gunship and for aircraft support. It is a variant of the C-130
Hercules transport plane.
AH-64 APACHE
AH-64 Apache is
a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with reverse-tricycle
landing gear, and tandem cockpit for a crew of two. The helicopter is
armed with a 30 mm automatic M230 Chain Gun that can be slaved to the
gunner’s Helmet mounted display, fixed to a locked forward firing
position, or controlled via the Target Acquisition and Designation
System (TADS).
AH-1 COBRA
AH-1 Cobra is a
two-bladed, single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell. The
AH-1 was the backbone of the United States Army’s attack helicopter
fleet, but has been replaced by the AH-64 Apache in Army service.
Upgraded versions continue to fly with several other users.
MIL MI-24
Mil Mi-24
(Cyrillic Миль Ми-24, NATO reporting name ‘Hind’) is a large helicopter
gunship and low-capacity troop transport produced by Mil Moscow
Helicopter Plant. The body is heavily armoured and can resist impacts
from .50 calibre (12.7 mm) rounds from all angles, including the
titanium rotor blades. The cockpit is an even more heavily armoured
titanium tub and can resist impact from 37mm cannon rounds.
EUROCOPTER TIGER
Eurocopter
Tiger is an attack helicopter manufactured by Eurocopter. In Germany it
is known as the Tiger; in France and Spain it is called the Tigre. The
body of the Tiger is made from 80% carbon fibber reinforced polymer and
Kevlar, 11% aluminium, and 6% titanium. The EC Tiger is capable of
stopping 23mm auto cannon fire.
A-129 MANGUSTA
Agusta A129
Mangusta (Mongoose) (AW129 from June 2007) is an attack helicopter
manufactured by Agusta of Italy. The A129 can be used in the
anti-armour, armed reconnaissance, ground attack, escort, fire support
and anti-aircraft roles. In the anti-armour role, the helicopter can
carry either Hellfire, TOW or Spike-ER missiles, or a mix of them and
has a three-barrel 20 mm cannon in a turret mounted under its nose.
MIL MI-28
Mil Mi-28 (NATO
reporting name ‘Havoc’) is a Russian all-weather day-night military
tandem two-seat anti-armour attack helicopter. It carries a single gun
in an under nose barbette, plus external loads carried on pylons beneath
stub wings.
UH-1 HUEY
The “Huey” as
it was called after it’s original model designation, the HU-1. “Hueys”
armed with only two M60D door guns, called “Slicks” because of their
uncluttered external appearance.
MH-60
The MH-60L Army
Special Operations variant is a UH-60L with various mods to include
updated cockpit, additional avionics, precision navigation system, FLIR,
aircraft survivability equipment, external tank system. Pylon mounting
cannon, rockets, or missiles can be supplemented by door or port
mounting guns or launchers, limited mainly by the range, duration,
cargo, or troops required to complete the mission.
KA-50 BLACK SHARK
The KA-50 Black
Shark (referred to by NATO as ‘Hokum’) is a sophisticated Russian-built
attack helicopter that is in service in small numbers (8 actively
deployed) with the Russian army. The KA-50 is unusual for an attack
helicopter in that it is crew by a single pilot/gunner, making it a very
demanding aircraft to fly and fight in.
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