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Fall, 1944: A German Jagdpanther (hunting Panther) and a Panther G lie in wait for the Americans in their ill-fated attack of the German-held Hurtgen forest area.
--From the talented hand of armor artist Jody Harmon.
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Air Power |
The Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche is the Army's next generation armed reconnaissance helicopter. It also is the first helicopter developed specifically for this role. The Comanche will provide Army Aviation the opportunity to move into the 21st century with a weapon system of unsurpassed warfighting capabilities crucial to the Army's future strategic vision.
The RAH-66 Comanche is an advanced twin engine, two seat (tandem) light attack/armed reconnaissance helicopter currently being developed for the U. S. Army by a joint venture comprising Boeing Helicopters and Sikorsky Aircraft. The Comanche features a five-bladed bearingless main rotor, a shrouded tail rotor, a low radar cross section composite fuselage with retractable weapons pylon, a fly-by-wire flight control system, and a fully integrated cockpit. The mission equipment package incorporates forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and image intensified television sensors for night pilotage and target acquisition. The Comanche will initially be armed with the semi-active laser Hellfire missile, the air-to-air Stinger missile, 2.75 inch aerial rockets, and a turreted 20 mm gun.
The Comanche is intended to replace the current fleet of AH-1 and OH-58 helicopters in all air cavalry troops and light division attack helicopter battalions, and supplement the AH-64 Apache in heavy division/corps attack helicopter battalions. The Army's April 2000 Aviation Force Modernization Plan recommended acquisition of 1,213 Comanche aircraft, valued at nearly $34 billion. The first US Army Comanche unit will be operationally equipped in 2006. Aviation battalions will be reorganized as part of the Army's 2000 Aviation Force Modernization Plan. AH-1 Cobras were divested by October 2001, and A and C model OH-58 Kiowas will be retired by 2004. The Cobras and Kiowas will be replaced by AH-64D Apaches and eventually by RAH-66 Comanches, the new reconnaissance and attack helicopter scheduled to begin joining the Army in 2008. Later-model Kiowas are scheduled for retirement in fiscal year 2013, according to the plan.
As of September 2002 the Army was considering a plan to cut the number of Comanche helicopters by almost 40%, to about 800, amid growing pressure to cancel the program entirely. Skeptics of the program suggest that unmanned planes capable of performing the Comanche's surveillance and precision-strike roles will be available to the Army prior to the maturing of the Comanche system. Under a revised concept of operations, each two-person Comanche crew could control one or two UAVs that would fly ahead of the Comanche, expanding the crews' vision of the battlefield.
In October 2002 the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) approved the Army's restructuring plan for the Comanche helicopter program - the sixth so far in the program's history. The new Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM) formally approving the plan added about $3.4 billion to the Comanche's $3.1-billion development program. The program's original procurement level of 1,213 aircraft was cut to 650, due in part to the longer-than-expected service life of the AH-64 Apache combat helicopter. The first helicopters will be combat-ready in September 2009, three years behind the previous schedule. Production and purchase of the first helicopters would begin in fiscal 2006, one year later than planned under the previous schedule. The contractor team would produced the first 650 Comanches for 14 to 15 years at a rate of up to 60 helicopters per year [a reduction from the previously planned maximum annual procurement rate of 95 per year]. The Army says it needs a minimum of 819 helicopters. Reducing the Comanche buy to 650 helicopters will cut $13 billion from the $42 billion procurement budget, but also will raise the cost of each helicopter by about $8.1 million. The Comanche's unit cost will rise from $24.1 million to $32.2 million. The Pentagon approved production quantities in the Comanche program's early years that fall slightly short of the earlier plan: 15 in 2007, 23 in 2008 and 35 in 2009. The earlier schedule called for 18, 24 and 36 aircraft, respectively. The latest plan lets the Army buy up to 60 helicopters per year once full production begins after 2009, versus 62 under the old plan.
Aviation battalions will be reorganized as part of the Army's 2000 Aviation Force Modernization Plan. AH-1 Cobras were divested by October 2001, and A and C model OH-58 Kiowas will be retired by 2004. The Cobras and Kiowas will be replaced by AH-64D Apaches and eventually by RAH-66 Comanches, the new reconnaissance and attack helicopter scheduled to begin joining the Army in 2008. Later-model Kiowas are scheduled for retirement in fiscal year 2013, according to the plan.
The multi-functional battalion structure is made up of 10 AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, 10 UH-60 Blackhawk utility helicopters and will eventually include 10 RAH-66 Comanche reconnaissance and attack helicopters. The Army will begin structuring battalions in this manner soon, although the Comanche requirement will have to be filled with Apaches and Kiowas until Comanche fully comes on-line.
As of late 2002 Army plans called for fielding detachments of 12 Comanche aircraft to the Objective Force brigade-strength 'units of action', accompanied by eight UAVs. Despite the cut to 650 systems, the Army still has a requirement for at least 819 Comanche helicopters. The reduced number provides systems for the 'unit of action', but does not provide enough to field the system to higher echelons of the Objective Force.
Specifications |
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| Manufacturer | Boeing Helicopter Company and Sikorsky Aircraft Division (joint venture) |
| Length | 46.78 feet (rotor turning) |
| Width | 39.04 feet (rotor turning) |
| Height | 11.0 feet (overall) |
| Armament |
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| Weight | Empty 7,765 pounds Combat Mission 10,600 pounds |
| Mission Equipment |
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| Propulsion | Two T800 1,440 SHP gas turbine engines 5-blade main rotor Fantail anti-torque |
| Crew | Two |
| Speed | 330 km/hr / 172 knots - Dash speed 315 km/hr / 164 knots - Dash speed (@ 4,000 feet/95oF / with Longbow) 310 km/hr / 161 knots - Cruise speed |
| Vertical Rate of Climb | 500-850 feet per minute |
| Range | 262 nm Max Range (internal fuel) 1,260 nm self-deployment range |
