Free Republic

No idea where this is, or when this was filmed, as the site only provides the video. Afghanistan perhaps?

The crew of a U.S. gunship have been awarded bravery medals at a ceremony in Florida after they rained fire down on Islamic State militants for hours, as allied soldiers on the ground were whisked to safety. Forces on the ground came under heavy fire from ISIS militants in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan on April 3, 2019, in a ferocious fight which one Major on the ground likened to infamous WW2 battle Iwo Jima. They called for backup from 'Spooky 41' - a AC-13OU gunship, and the Hercules-variant plane arrived within minutes to provide covering fire and ensure medical helicopters could...

The Australian Army has entered a new era with the deployment of four Airbus Helicopters Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters (ARH) aboard the navy's HMAS Canberra as part of the vessel’s voyage through Southeast Asia. While the deployment marks the third time that the combat rotorcraft has been operated from the Canberra, it is the first occasion that an operational unit has done so. With 80 army personnel – of whom 12 are flight crew – the army and navy are focused on developing a seaborne attack helicopter capability. FlightGlobal toured the Canberra recently as it visited Singapore as part of...

Earlier, it was reported that a prototype Mi-28NM was deployed to the Hmeymim Airbase in Syria's Latakia province to conduct field testing in high temperature and desert conditions, and to test out a new mobile radar complex. A video purportedly showing the Mi-28NM gunship, operating in tandem with a Russian military Mi-24 in Syria's Hama province, has surfaced online. In the footage, which has yet to be verified or commented on by the Russian Defence Ministry, the new helicopter, distinguishable by its unique ball-shaped radar installed above its main rotor, is seen making repeated passes over a local settlement thought...

Turkish Aerospace's new attack helicopter exhibits the same configuration as the company's T129 Atak, but is considerably larger and more powerful. (photo: Turkish Aerospace) Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSB) signed a contract with Turkish Aerospace Industries on February 22 as part of the country’s effort to indigenously develop a new 10-tonne heavy attack helicopter, which is likely to compete in the future with the Boeing AH-64 Apache. The contract for the Heavy Class Attack Helicopter project has an undisclosed value, and how much this initial contract covers in terms of program deliverables has also not been released. Details so...

The United Arab Emirates Joint Aviation Command showed off its new Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky UH-60M Armed Black Hawks (ABH) for the first time in public during the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) held in Abu Dhabi, February 17-21. The UAE was the launch customer for this integrated weaponization kit, announcing an order for 24 UH-60Ms plus the weapons kit at the 2011 edition of IDEX. Installation of the kits is performed by AMMROC (Advanced Military Maintenance Repair Overhaul Center), an Abu Dhabi-based joint venture between the Emirates Defense Industries Company (EDIC), Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin that supports many of the UAE Armed...

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI), the country's sole aircraft manufacturer, on Tuesday unveiled a prototype of a Korean-made light armed helicopter (LAH). KAI began to develop the 4.9-ton LAH in June 2015 and assembled the prototype helicopter last month. It aims to complete the development of the LAH, set to be used by the Army, by 2023, the company said in a statement. "The company will make a series of ground tests from January to see if the prototype plane's engine and other systems work properly before it makes a test flight in May (2019)...

The army’s fleet of 22 Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters (ARHs) appears to face an uncertain future with the Department of Defence confirming that they will be replaced in the mid-2020s and that they will not be upgraded in the meantime. Until then they will continue to receive a number of apparently minor improvements through a capability assurance program. Enthusiasm for the Tigers has waxed and waned over recent years and now, following another lengthy grounding, a Defence Department spokesperson was prepared only to say: “The capability assurance program is limited and designed to ensure Tiger remains effective until a replacement...

Defence looks set to plough hundreds of millions of dollars into sustaining and upgrading one of its most trouble-prone helicopter models despite the aircraft being grounded over potential safety issues and never seeing a war zone. The attack and reconnaissance Tiger helicopters, which cost about $1.5 billion and more than $800 million to sustain, are supposed to continue to operate into the 2020s. And to maintain operations to 2020, the aircraft needs a mid-life upgrade worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Due to the helicopter’s ongoing problems, such as running seven years late in reaching final operating capability, Defence was...

After a visit to Afghanistan, which saw a particularly brazen Taliban attack on Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford went to Capitol Hill to talk to Senators about the state of America’s longest war. Among other things, America’s top uniformed military officer discussed efforts to improve the capability of Afghanistan’s military, specifically noting plans to deliver a gunship version of the UH-60 Black Hawk to the country’s air force. On Sept. 18, 2017, two UH-60A+ Black Hawks, the first of nearly...

The U.S. Army signed a deal to buy as many 150 MD 530F light attack helicopters, as well as a host of related mission equipment, specifically for American allies and partners, over the next five years. The first deliveries will go to Afghanistan, where some officials have previously criticized the tiny gunship’s performance in the country and which simply may not have the manpower to effectively make use of them at all. On Sept. 5, 2017, the Pentagon announced the Army’s contract award to MD Helicopters, worth almost $1.4 billion, in its daily contracting press release. This initial notice suggested...

ISLAMABAD/MOSCOW – The Pakistan Army Aviation Corps (PAAC) took delivery of four Russian-made Mi-35M attack helicopters, Pakistan’s Defense Export Promotion Organization (DEPO) has confirmed. “The contract was signed, we received all four cars [Mi-35Ms] and now we get new equipment,” DEPOs Brigadier General Waheed Mumtaz told reporters in Moscow at International Military-Technical Forum (Army 2017), which took place August 22-27 in Moscow. Russia officially lifted an arms embargo against Pakistan, in place since the Soviet-Afghan War, in June 2014. Pakistan and Russia agreed to the $153 million helicopter deal, which included training, spare parts and ground support equipment, during then-Chief...

A new version of the Mi-28UB “Night Hunter” - a modern attack helicopter - will be transported to Russia’s air base in Syria in the coming weeks. The war machine’s manufacturers are keen to test its modified armor and missiles on the front line. A military industrial source told RBTH this: “Russian Helicopters [corporation] strengthened the helicopter’s front armor and enhanced its ‘brains.’ ” So in the very near future, an advanced version of the “battle bird” will be carrying out search and destroy missions against ISIS in the Middle East. One of the chopper’s new features gives full control...

The maker of Australia’s problematic Tiger attack helicopters has issued a safety warning describing all versions of the aircraft as being in an “unsafe condition”. The Airbus bulletin about the choppers which have cost Australia $1.5 billion to buy, was issued after a German operated variant crashed in Africa last month. Blades falling of the German helicopter mid flight have since been blamed as the possible cause of the crash that saw the aircraft plunge into the desert from a height of about 500m killing the two crew. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) which operates 22 of the Tigers last...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's defense ministry on Thursday defended the performance of its Tiger helicopters as part of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali amid indications that Wednesday's deadly crash of one of the aircraft was due to technical factors. Two crew members were killed when one of Germany's four Tiger helicopters crashed in the West African nation's desert north on Wednesday, but there were no signs that it was downed by an attack, German officials said. It was the first deadly accident involving Germany's Tiger helicopters. Two crew members escaped with minor injuries during an earlier crash in 2013...

Chinese-developed attack helicopter Z-19E is pictured during its maiden flight in Harbin, Heilongjiang province in China on May 18.(Reuters) China unveiled an indigenously developed attack helicopter on Thursday as it eyes a lucrative export market and ramps up an ambitious modernisation programme. The Z-19E, developed by the state-owned AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry, took to the skies over the city of Harbin for its maiden flight, with images carried on state television. Based on the Z-19’s design, the Z-19E, also called the “Black Whirlwind” can be used in quick-response, low-impact and frequent attack missions, the China National Radio reported. “The helicopter...

Russian Helicopters is on track to deliver this year the first examples of the Kamov Ka-52 attack rotorcraft to export customer Egypt. Parent company Rostec confirms that the first of an eventual 46 Alligators will be handed over to Cairo this year. Dating from an order revealed in December 2015, the helicopters will operate from a pair of French-built Mistral-class amphibious assault ships acquired by the Egyptian navy. Russian Helicopters Flight Fleets Analyzer lists Algeria as the only other export buyer for the Ka-52, with an order for 12 aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2019. Russian Helicopters holds...

Turkey’s new locally-built advanced attack and tactical reconnaissance helicopter ATAK will be equipped with UMTAS, a long range air-to-surface anti-tank missile developed by Turkey’s ROKETSAN, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Nov. 23. Test firing has already commenced, according to the report. The UMTAS was originally designed to engage tanks and heavily armored vehicles, but it can be integrated to various platforms from helicopters to drones. The L-UMTAS and UMTAS versions have now been integrated and fired from the ATAK helicopters. As a result, the ATAK, which became a part of the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) inventory in June 2014, will...

Russia’s Mil Mi-28N “Night Hunter” (NATO reporting name: Havoc or Havoc-B) attack helicopter took to the skies for the first time on November 14, 1996. Nineteen years later, the attack helicopter joined the Russian air task force in Syria, which is fighting militants of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra organizations (outlawed in Russia) on the invitation of Syrian authorities. In particular, the Russian Defense Ministry posted a video on its official channel in the YouTube, showing a Night Hunter helicopter destroying terrorists’ armor. Russia is currently developing the helicopter’s new modification, Mi-28NM, taking into account the Syrian experience. As...

The Australia National Audit Office (ANAO) has issued a report that is highly critical of the army’s fleet of 22 Airbus Helicopters Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH). The 64-page report details a range of issues. It identifies 76 “capability deficiencies,” of which the Department of Defence (DoD) deems 60 to be “critical.” “The Tiger helicopter fleet has not yet delivered the original capability expected by the Australian Government, and continues to experience higher than expected sustainment costs and lower than expected aircraft availability,” says the ANAO. On the original acquisition of the type, it contends that the Tiger was still...