For an enemy soldier, the first thing they head is a thunderous noise. The ground trembles and a storm is created. If they could see it, the apache looks like a massive deadly insect. For the enemy, this site may be the last thing that they would ever see. The apache can dive into action with speeds up to 200 miles per hour and deliver a devastating fire storm of 16 hellfire missiles. Its 13 mm cannons can fire over 600 rounds per minute. It attacks tanks and armoured vehicles with razor sharp accuracy. Day and night and with nowhere to hide, apache will hunt the enemy down and destroy them. Apache is the deadliest helicopter in the world. There is no doubt that it the force to be reckon with. It puts fear into the enemy in the battle field. The primary weapon against any armoured vehicle is hellfire missile system. The missiles will hit the tank and start an internal fire which would melt the tank down.
In the early 1970’s, America believed that the threat from the Soviet Union was increasing. Their powerful helicopters and tanks were more than match for the US army’s existing helicopters. So the US threw out a challenge to aircraft manufacturers to build the most powerful helicopter in the world. Two aircraft companies responded and were racing to put their helicopters against each other for the best one. The prize will be to win the contract for building US army’s frontline helicopter. The contenders were Bell Helicopters and Hughes Helicopters. Both helicopters were pushed to the limits of testing and the winner was Hughes Helicopters with its prototype winning over the Bell helicopter. Hughes won over Bell on the basis of survivability, the strength to take power and punishment, give it back and bring the crew back home safe.
Imagine a high tech vehicle so difficult to operate, that learning to operate it takes even the most experienced drivers two years. That’s the challenge for every licensed helicopter pilot who wants to fly the US army AH64 Apache helicopter. Designed to protect ground troops by launching devastating assaults, the Apache is a flying tank. The primary function of the apache is to deal death and destruction in the battlefield. It can carry more, go farther and faster than any other attack helicopter out there. The apache can sour as fast as 160 miles per hour and has high as 15,000 feet. IT can pull out manoeuvres impossible for most helicopters including barrel rolls and loops.
Any pilot who begins training on the apache is already a chopper pilot. Here’s an idea of the basis of flying an apache. The key instrument in the cockpit is the cyclic control stick. It gives the pilot the control over the helicopter’s four rotor blades which are essentially rotating wings. Moving the rotor stick causes the rotor blade to tilt which changes how much life it provides. Adjusting the tilt equally for all the blades lifts straight up and down. Changing the tilt for some of the blades creates uneven life causing the helicopter to climb, dive or turn. Controlling an apache requires more than just the skills, it requires nerves. Flying this chopper is so sophisticated and the enemy territory is so hostile, the pilots refer to its as “Riding The Dragon”.
In the eyes of the enemy, the Apache is a very dangerous helicopter and also in the eyes of the pilots, it’s a very dangerous helicopter to learn to fly. A navy person at least takes 2 years of training to actually become an apache pilot. A single Apache costs around $20 million. That’s around Nrs. 200 crores for a single Apache. One of the most difficult things of flying an apache is having to constantly shift focus from one eye to the other because the helmet is fitted with a monocle, fixed in front of the right eye. Twelve different instrument ratings from the cockpit are projected onto the monocle screen. While the pilot’s right eye is interpreting all that data, the left eye is free to scan outside for threats. All that moment, sensors are detecting all the time where the right eye is looking in the monocle. Just move the monocle’s crosshairs on the target below and the weapon that the pilot selects will fire precisely where the pilot is looking. The gun actually follows the line of sight where the pilot is looking.
The Apache’s arsenal includes M230 automatic cannon mounted on to the fuselage. It can take out a target more than two miles away. It can shoot in excess of 200 rounds per minute. Each round almost has the potential of a single grenade. With the touch of a button, the pilot can also deploy a variety of smaller missiles and free flight rockets, but the most powerful weapon is the AGM 114, also known as the Hellfire Missiles. This missile can penetrate any known defence in the battlefield and the range extends more than five miles with pinpoint accuracy. For all the onboard firepower, one of the more reassuring things of flying an apache is the blanket of security measures that protects the crew. The windshield is made of reinforced glass that can withstand every type of small forearm. The pilot seat is protected by a heavy duty layer of kevlar. All these features makes the aircraft stay in the fight for a long period of time, its ability to take excessive amount of enemy firepower, still stay in the fight and provide the capability for the ground troops to move forward. This is what makes the apache one of military’s most advanced and celebrated aircrafts.
