The Latest from Cactus Tactical: Weapons of the War in Afghanistan: Rotary-wing Aircraft, Part II

Weapons of the War in Afghanistan

In the world of war, weapons and technology are ever changing, each war is characterized by the weapons and tactics used to fight it. As new environments and enemies are encountered, the parties to those wars develop new - more effective tactics, technologies, and weapons to counter and defeat their adversaries. The ingenuity seen in war has existed since (and most certainly before) the first wars of recorded history and continue to this very day.

Keeping with that theory, let’s take a look at the weapons that have characterized the wars and conflicts that the United States has been a party to over the course of it’s history. During the course of this series, I aim to breakdown the weapons used in each conflict by their classification, and to which party they were employed by. Having served in combat operations in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, I would like to start our series with the War in Afghanistan.

For our tenth installment let's take a look at the most common rotary-wing aircraft of the war in Afghanistan. These can be anything from supply to transport to attack helicopters. Rotary-wing aircraft play a major role in the war in Afghanistan, and the war could not be effectively fought without them.

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The United States

AH-1 SuperCobra

The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engine attack helicopter based on the United States Army's AH-1 Cobra. The twin Cobra family includes the AH-1J SeaCobra, the AH-1T Improved SeaCobra, and the AH-1W SuperCobra. The AH-1W is the backbone of the United States Marine Corps's attack helicopter fleet, but is being replaced in service by the Bell AH-1Z Viper.

AH-1 Cobras continue to operate with the U.S. Marine Corps. USMC Cobras served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in Operation Iraqi Freedom in the conflict in Iraq. While new replacement aircraft were considered as an alternative to major upgrades of the AH-1 fleet, Marine Corps studies showed that an upgrade was the most affordable, most supportable and most effective solution for the Marine Corps light attack helicopter mission.

Possible Armament:

20 mm M197 3-barreled Gatling cannon in the A/A49E-7 turret (750 rounds ammo capacity)
70 mm Hydra 70 or APKWS II rockets - Mounted in LAU-68C/A (7 shot) or LAU-61D/A (19 shot) launchers
5 in (127 mm) Zuni rockets - 8 rockets in two 4-round LAU-10D/A launchers
TOW missiles - Up to 8 missiles mounted in two 4-round XM65 missile launchers, one on each outboard hardpoint
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles - Up to 8 missiles mounted in two 4-round M272 missile launchers, one on each outboard hardpoint
AIM-9 Sidewinder anti-aircraft missiles - 1 mounted on each outboard hardpoint (total of 2)

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CH-46 Sea Knight

The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft aircraft engines. It was used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment until it was replaced by the MV-22 Osprey. Additional tasks included combat support, search and rescue (SAR), support for forward refueling and rearming points, CASEVAC and Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP).

The Sea Knight was also the U.S. Navy's standard medium-lift utility helicopter until it was phased out in favor of the MH-60S Knighthawk in the early 2000s. Canada also operated the Sea Knight, designated as CH-113, and operated them in the SAR role until 2004. Other export customers include Japan, Sweden, and Saudi Arabia. The commercial version is the BV 107-II, commonly referred to simply as the "Vertol".

The CH-46 has tandem counter-rotating rotors powered by two GE T58 turboshaft engines. The engines are mounted on each side of the rear rotor pedestal with a driveshaft to the forward rotor. The engines are coupled so either could power both rotors in an emergency. The rotors feature three blades and can be folded for on-ship operations. The CH-46 has fixed tricycle landing gear, with twin wheels on all three landing gear legs. The gear configuration causes a nose-up stance to facilitate cargo loading and unloading. The main gear are fitted in rear sponsons that also contain fuel tanks with a total capacity of 350 US gallons.

The CH-46 has a cargo bay with a rear loading ramp that could be removed or left open in flight for extended cargo or for parachute drops. An internal winch is mounted in the forward cabin and can be used to pull external cargo on pallets into the aircraft via the ramp and rollers. A belly sling hook (cargo hook) which is usually rated at 10,000 lb. could be attached for carrying external cargo. Although the hook is rated at 10,000 lbs the limited power produced by the engines precludes the lifting of such weight. It usually has a crew of three, but can accommodate a larger crew depending on mission specifics. For example, a Search and Rescue variant will usually carry a crew of five (Pilot, Co-Pilot, Crew Chief, Swimmer, and Medic) to facilitate all aspects of such a mission. The CH-46E can transport about 25 troops. A pintle-mounted .50 Cal Browning M2 machine gun is mounted on each side of the helicopter for self-defense. Service in southeast Asia resulted in the addition of armor with the guns.

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CH-53D Sea Stallion

The CH-53 Sea Stallion is the most common name for the Sikorsky S-65 family of heavy-lift transport helicopters. Originally developed for use by the United States Marine Corps, it is in service with Germany, Iran, Israel, and Mexico. The United States Air Force operated the HH-53 "Super Jolly Green Giant" during the late– and post–Vietnam-War era, updating most of them as the MH-53 Pave Low.

The dimensionally-similar CH-53E Super Stallion is a heavier-lifting, improved version designated S-80E by Sikorsky. Its third engine makes it more powerful than the Sea Stallion, which it has replaced in the heavy-lift mission.

The CH-53D features uprated engines, initially T64-GE-412 with 3,695 shp then the T64-413 with 3,925 shp with an uprated transmission. Its interior added seats to allow for 55 troops. CH-53Ds are generally armed with twin .50 BMG M2/XM218 machine guns. In later years, CH-53Ds have been fitted with defensive countermeasures including an AN/ALE-39 chaff dispenser and an AN/ALQ-157 infrared countermeasure.

Later production CH-53Ds featured a Blade Inspection Method (BIM) scheme to detect cracks in its metal rotors. BIM involved pressurizing the interior of the rotor blades with nitrogen. If a crack is present pressure is lost and a red indicator on the rotor blade tip was tripped. Later, the BIM system was connected to a cockpit display. BIM reduced the need to swap out rotor blades on a routine basis.

The last CH-53Ds performed the D-model's final mission in Afghanistan in late February 2012 and were taken out of service afterwards.