Helo News game related.

[Suhiir]

1. Even in the Cold War only the suicidal charged in. Think Vietnam, they flew high getting to the LZ area because the NVA/VC AA was virtually nonexistent then low as low as possible near the LZ.

6. No way the current game can model crew survivability for helos.

7. ALWAYS buy Attack Helo's in pairs. Use placed well back to draw fire while the other waits till it's safe to pop-up and fire. When one is out of ammo swap roles.

8. Again the current game model won't allow damaged helos to do anything but run for home.

[PvtJoker]

Originally Posted by Suhiir

8. Again the current game model won't allow damaged helos to do anything but run for home.

Which is pretty much what they will do in real life, as shown by the (in)famous incident during OIF. Any more than light damage and an attack helo is a mission kill. The same incident also showed what knowledgeable people already knew: even modern attack helos can be damaged by rifle caliber fire. The tail rotor is the most obvious vulnerability, but it's not the only one (if it was, everybody would be using Kamov style dual main rotors).

Basically, when marketing material says that an attack helo is protected against caliber X projectiles, it means that the armored areas can withstand a couple of hits by said caliber HE shells (or API in case of =< 14.5mm machine guns) and the aircraft can still fly home. It does NOT mean AFV style protection, which means that you can fire a large number of rounds at the vehicle and expect the armor to stop them all no problems.

[gila]

Originally Posted by Suhiir

8. Again the current game model won't allow damaged helos to do anything but run for home.

Which is a very good reason to never buy them,Costly AT Helos rarely survive the battle, game wise an unwise purchase,but those into them can get some early kills then the man pads or stray mmg get them retreating or knocked down

[Mobhack]

Originally Posted by gila

Which is a very good reason to never buy them,Costly AT Helos rarely survive the battle, game wise an unwise purchase,but those into them can get some early kills then the man pads or stray mmg get them retreating or knocked down

Until you have large areas to cover on big maps. Not much cop on postage stamp battlefields, invaluable as the battlespace expands.

"Attack" helos are simply extremely fast tank destroyers that can relocate within your own side of the map as desired, and return to the ammo park to resupply tout suite. Think of the WW2 M18 hellcat, but turbocharged. Or naval battle cruisers - can dish it out but cannot take it.

What they aren't good for is going beyond your own front line, unless the opponent is primitive - and even then its a bit of a gamble if you aren't super cautious and don't have scout choppers to advance along the proposed route.

So stay well back in your zone, look for AAA weapons and kill those with other means (while taking cover yourself) if they show themselves (A shedload of arty usually does that trick).

If there is no credible enemy AAA - then you can it up high and see for miles while dominating the battlefield.

If the enemy is infantry-based then scout choppers with decent (TI) vision are better. Use to spot for the shedloads of arty you brought along - scout choppers are arty spotters.

Transport helos are brilliant for relocating leg infantry sideways in your own zone, on a large map, using terrain masking. But again any kamikaze charge into the enemy's rear can end in tears. Transport helos are super-fast trucks, is all.