Summary
Aircraft: self-protection
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Extract
Helicopter self-protection under fire.
Rotary-wing aircraft have matured extensively from the fragile machines of the war in Indochina to the 'flying tanks' and workhorses of the current operational environment. The latter places a crucial importance as well as a heavy burden on tactical helicopters, called to operate in extreme environments over vast distances and under a wide array of threats.
The relatively slow, low-flying helicopter is particularly exposed on the battlefield, even when air supremacy eliminates flying threats. The most obvious threat is the shoulder-launched, ground-to-air, heat-seeking missile. The development of first-generation missiles was given an overrated priority in the Western world in the early 1970s after they came as a bad surprise to unprotected Israeli helicopters in 1973. However, early versions, like the SA-7 Strela...See the full content of this document
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