Tell that to my APACHE crews that along with helicopters are all over "
God's Green Earth" this was why several years ago I was wondering if we create "
Auto Rotation" in the game you might lose your helicopter but by the same token you might save your crew and some soldiers if in a troop transport helo.
And we did look into this several years ago. Mostly we found some Helos armor was rated lower than they should've been against ammo at the
23mm (VIPOR/APACHE)
BECAUSE those values needed weren't available when they were entered into the game. And there were some older ones dating back before Andy and Don to include more contemporary ones as well.
My game world again is
ONLY the
AI one. When I buy Helos or aircraft it amazes me how the
AI seems to know I got them.
So, when I "
bring them to the party" MANPADS are the least of my problems though they've caused me headaches as well. It's the big stuff that waiting for me and the AI
VERY RARELY has disappointed with its "
welcoming committee".
This why
terrain masking is so important no matter the type.
Some are more resilient because unlike fighters except with some armor around the cockpit they actually figured out years ago helicopters because of their flight limitations
might just need more of it.
And don't get me started on the more modern
EW and
Decoys
that are out there. Those are items we can't fully simulate in the game though they exist in the RW.
So I'd call that a tradeoff with the perception helicopters are too "strong".
Last time I checked the Ukraine is a fairly flat and open country and when you use your air assets (Including Helos.) to drop "
dumb bombs" over plains and farmland then your commanders as a dumb as the bombs their telling you to drop in that environment.
Even I can shoot down a helo in open country with a "
AASIRSBG" ALRIGHT I'll translate-
Anti-Aircraft Sneeze Injected Recoil Spit Ball Gun.
We're getting caught up in the videos, we've seen some successes on both sides in using attack Helos and if you've seen the ones, I've seen they're ALL flying "
nap of the earth" and fast. There's one of a Ukrainian
Mi-24 that was flying
no more than 15 ft. over cars on a road.
That
MIGHT help to avoid radar detection, makes you harder to hear you coming (Think about it the higher you are the more "
space" you create for sound to travel further and wider in all directions. Same concept as Sonar in the open ocean versus in a bay) Which I believe is another thing we can't simulate "
Nap of the Earth" flight.
I'm of the opinion that this matter really is a DRAW for both sides of the argument. Not just for the above but also because MANY people have postulated the opposite view that helicopters are too vulnerable.
And there you have it. I
terrain mask and still use them. I can count on my hands and the number
NOT reaching 10 how many crews have survived one of my
23/25 game generated campaigns when part of my core units.
If anything, we need to find the
AI Military Intelligence Agency (AIMIA) 
code AND KILL IT.
Yeah,
AIMIA was on purpose there's a hidden message in there.
Regards,
Pat
