I know have been posting a bunch lately about obscure military stuff, and I am gonna slow down because I think the media narrative is shifting in a good way but there remains one BIG thing I think is being utterly ignored right now…
The damn helicopters!!!
I think there is a real chance Ukraine could get AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters, and on an accelerated timeline, if the fickle winds of dumb bs US politics don’t mess it up… but in this case I don’t think they will. The western media has largely ignored this news treating it as a slightly confusing callback to an older era of weapon systems, which actually makes it more likely that I think things will progress as there is little political capital around boistering about it (compared to say patriot missiles or tomahawk cruise missiles).
The reason I am posting this article is because it does a good job of laying out the capability of these platforms, and if you actually look at it, this is exactly the kind of thing Ukraine needs for flexible organic air defense right now, and these aren’t theoretical untested airframes, they are extensively tested and yet some of these airframes are brand new sitting in storage waiting to be taken out and used.
There is an optical illusion going on here that portrays these as obsolete, maybe it is on purpose maybe it is just an expression of the decay in the media’s capability to cover subjects like war I don’t know, but don’t be fooled by it.
The Bell AH-1Z Viper’s Target Sight System (TSS) integrates third‑generation thermal (FLIR) optics with high‑performance electro‑optical sensors and image‑processing subsystems to form a detect–recognize–track–engage processing chain. The TSS is engineered for maximum detection range and minimised aiming errors: low system noise, a stabilized sensor platform and jitter‑compensation algorithms combine to reduce aiming‑point dispersion to levels competitive with advanced helicopter sighting systems.
A key tactical attribute of the TSS is its fully passive scanning mode. The system can survey the battlespace without active radar emissions, which lowers the probability of detection by adversary sensors and supports covert operations. The TSS is also capable of simultaneous identification and tracking of multiple targets at ranges that frequently exceed the effective employment envelope of the platform’s own weapons, enabling the AH‑1Z to function as a sensor node and provide early warning to other units as well as a strike asset.
Also see this recent article on helicopter launched cruise missiles that were tested from AH-1Z.
Another relevant link, Russia adapting attack helicopters for drone/uav defense.