Army Changing Chopper Corps After Setbacks

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON July 31, 2004 — The Army is overhauling its helicopter corps after high-profile setbacks in Iraq. A battle lost, several crashes and the cancellation of the new Comanche stealth helicopter have led critics to suggest the aircraft is too fragile, vulnerable and ineffective for the modern battlefield.
...
During the invasion of Iraq, in the early morning of March 24, 2003, Iraqi forces ambushed 30 Apaches from the 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment, shot down one and forced the others to retreat.

The Apaches were conducting a deep strike against the tanks and artillery of the Medina Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Due to a delay in refueling some of the helicopters, the mission started more than two hours later than planned. This gave the Iraqis time to recover from preattack strikes by artillery missiles and Air Force jets.
...
Someone blinked the lights on and off in the town below to signal the helicopters' approach. Iraqi gunners targeted their weapons just above the tops of electrical power poles, knowing that American pilots are trained to fly directly over poles to avoid hitting hard-to-spot wires.

Every Apache was hit by either small arms or anti-aircraft fire. One went down; its pilots were captured and later rescued. The rest withdrew, many with 20 bullet holes or more. It took a month of repairs before the regiment could bring its full firepower to bear....More......

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040731_1039.html

[HereSince1628]

1. Ouch, someone penetrated Helicopter insertion 101

And why, I ask, are helicopters now frequently ambiguously referred to simply as aircraft? I don't get this. Rotor wing vs fixed wing aircraft face different threats, just as unmanned vs. manned jet aircraft do.

An aircraft is no longer "an aircraft" the media should insist on clarifications.

[Az_lefty]

2. One Apache

was shot down by an old farmer with a 12ga shotgun. Helicopter's
have always been vulnerable to ground fire.

[BrotherBuzz]

3. It's them pesky blackmarket heat-seeking missles

that really get ya. The chief threat to helicopters in Iraq are portable heat-seeking missiles and I understand they are slipping into Iraq from everywhere.