Attack Helicopters The helicopter comes of age as the addition of armament dramatically change a platform initially limited to transport duty.
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Aerospatiale / Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma / AS 532 Cougar The Super Puma was developed by French-based Aerospatiale (formerly Sud Aviation) form the successful AS 330 Puma series of medium-lift utility helicopters. The newer Super Puma design was essentially a base Puma with an impr...
1982
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AgustaWestland A 129 Mangusta (Mongoose) The A 129 Mangusta ("Mongoose") was developed as a variant of the A 109 series of helicopters. The newly design aircraft proved to be larger and so different than its predecessor that the system was designated as the A 129 an...
Bell AH-1 HueyCobra / Cobra (Bell 209) Based on the private venture Bell 209 helicopter, the AH-1 Cobra series of helicopters is many a military's primary light attack helicopter. As early as the 1950's Bell corporation was experimenting with armed versions in the...
1967
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Bell AH-1 SuperCobra The AH-1W and AH-1J SuperCobra series of helicopters are an updated and slightly modified version of the AH-1 HueyCobra (or simply "Cobra") detailed elsewhere on this website.
Much like the base Cobra, the SuperCobra is a...
1986
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Bell OH-58 Kiowa The Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior was a further development of the successful Bell OH-58 Kiowa. Intended to be fielded alongside the Apache Longbow and provide scouting and observation capabilities in an offensive support capacit...
1969
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Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) The UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" became an important part of American military actions beginning in 1960 and expanding throughout the latter part of the Cold War years. The ubiquitous system became synonymous with the American effort...
1959
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Boeing / McDonnell Douglas / Hughes AH-64 Apache / Apache Longbow Originally a Hughes-based design, the YAH-64 faced off against a Bell YAH-63 system in the United States Army's search for an advanced attack helicopter. The system was to field the latest in technology, maneuverability and b...
1984
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Boeing / Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche The RAH-66 Comanche helicopter was to be the next generation answer for the United States Army in replacing its aging series of UH-1, AH-1 Cobra, OH-6 and OH-58 Kiowa helicopters in full. The RAH-66 was designed as the world'...
2004
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CAIC WZ-10 The CAIC WZ-10 (Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation / Wuzhuang Zhisheng) is a new addition to the global family of attack helicopters, with this particular model being produced for use by the People’s Republic of China. T...
2008
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Denel AH-2 Rooivalk (Kestrel) The Denel (then Atlas) AH-2 Rooivalk (translating to "Kestrel") was an ambitious and indigenous undertaking by the nation of South Africa. At the time of its development, the Rooivalk was heralded as one of the top performing...
1999
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Eurocopter Tiger (EC 665) The Eurocopter Tiger (EC 665) is a relatively new attack helicopter initially designed and developed through a joint venture between the governments of France and Germany. Comparatively, the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter...
2003
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Hughes / MD Helicopters AH-6 / MH-6 Little Bird The AH-6/MH-6 "Little Bird" forms an oft-overlook yet wholly vital part of American Special Operations services. This highly maneuverable and diminutive machine has taken part in both major and minor military operations the w...
1980
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Kamov Ka-25 (Hormone) The Kamov Ka-25 (NATO codename of "Hormone") was developed from the Ka-20, which itself was a response to a Soviet Navy requirement for a ship-borne helicopter to replace the aging Mil Mi-4 platforms. The Ka-25 became a mains...
1966
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Kamov Ka-50 (Black Shark) / (Hokum) The Kamov Ka-50 Chernaya Akula (or "Black Shark" and Codenamed "Hokum" by NATO) series of attack helicopter was developed in the latter years of the Cold War and did not enter operational service with Russian military forces ...
1995
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Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne The AH-56 Cheyenne was Lockheed's first and only foray into development of a production helicopter. In many respects, however, the Cheyenne was neither a true helicopter nor was it a true airplane - in many ways that today's...
1967
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Mil Mi-14 (Haze) The Mil Mi-14 (NATO codename "Haze") was a dedicated naval anti-submarine helicopter appearing in limited production numbers throughout the Cold War beginning in 1975. The system was a further development of the Mil Mi-8 seri...
1975
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Mil Mi-24 / Mi-25 / Mi-35 (Hind) The Mil-produced series of "Hind" helicopters was a favorite Cold War-relic and continues (albeit modernized) in many of today's armies including Russias. The heavy helicopter is capable of commanding various battlefield role...
1973
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Mil Mi-28 (Havoc) The Mi-28 (NATO reporting name of "Havoc") was a product of the Cold War designed as an anti-tank attack platform similar in nature to the American-produced AH-64 Apache series. Like the Apache, the Mi-28 featured an armored ...
1983
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Mil Mi-8 (Hip) Numbering well over 12,000 production examples, the Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name of "Hip") can be viewed as one of the most successful helicopter designs of all time. It has seen use as a passenger transport, troop transport...
1967
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Sikorsky H-34 / CH-34 Choctaw The H-34 Choctaw was a multi-purpose, turbine-powered utility helicopter produced by Sikorsky in the United States. It was developed as a replacement for the similar Korean War-era UH-19 Chickasaw series of helicopters and de...
1954
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Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King At its peak, the Sikorsky SH-3 series of naval aircraft was a widely used and successful platform utilized in anti-submarine warfare and search and rescue operations. Development stemmed from a United States Navy 1957 contrac...
1961
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Sud Aviation / Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma The Puma began life as a product of Sud Aviation designed to meet an French Army requirement for an all-weather, medium-lift, multi-purpose utility helicopter to replace the aging set of Sikorsky S-58 systems in French servic...
1969
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Westland / AgustaWestland Lynx The Westland Lynx (AgustaWestland since 2000) was designed to a British Army requirement and initially consisted of four planned projects that included an army, navy, 2-seat attack and civilian passenger versions. The main id...
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