There is a whopping big difference between a couple of dedicated gunship pilots getting in close and personal, putting rounds on target, looking the bad guys in the eye as they punch the rockets off and shoot the cannon at them....as compared to a couple of Jets whizzing through at warp speed screaming for vectors to the safe ejection area.
I have been there....done that....and know too well how nice it is to see the helicopter gunship rolling on on some rascal that is hosing yer butt down with automatic weapons fire or RPG's. Tac Air has its role to play and cluster bombs and napalm do a trick on the bad guys....but for up close and personal the helicopter gunship is where it is at. I am here today because of some guys that had the ability to put mini-gun fire and 17 pound warhead rockets exactly where they wanted.
The key element is the "grit" the gunnies have and will they be willing to get down there amongst'em to lay the Whoop Ass on them? You are not gonna set out there at 7KM's and do squat but watch the Assault Aircraft get killed. If your Apache guys cannot consistently and confidently hit pinpoint targets with both cannon and rockets you are in deep, deep, trouble. If they cannot hit something with the first cannon rounds or first pair of rockets then the bad guys will have you for lunch.
If you guys go into Afghanistan thinking you hold the advantage in all regards....just wait until you have a bird down with survivors in a contested LZ. You will find yourselves learning some costly lessons about under-estimating your enemy, and you will be wanting all the mortars, artillery, Apaches, Harriers, F-18's, F-16's, and B-52's you can summon.
That time is coming, count on it.
For you Apache pilots out there....it is walking the walk that counts....not talking the talk. Don't think the shooting will be controlled runs, with nice setups, and lots of time to pick the good guys apart from the bad. Most of your serious work will be instinctive shooting with hard maneuvering to get in to the position to be able to shoot. If you cannot hit it on the move instinctly, you will be a liability to everyone in the LZ. How close are you prepared to shoot to your own troops? When the fur is flying....it will be tens of meters sometimes...are you capable of doing that?