Conceptual Bell Huey II Gunship
The following image and detail illustrates what is achievable with the very versatile Huey II regarding cost-effective gunship operations, without the appreciable technical and logistic penalties associated with Hellfire and 70mm unguided rockets. Both Apache and Tiger require substantial support teams for field operations which would likely compound operating considerations in remote areas throughout the Australian regional archipelago. The Huey II would be much more simply supportable and has outstanding hot and high performance.
'Intimate' Close Air Support in my view is laying down accurate high density ball ammunition fire support with acceptable risk about 10 metres from own forces in necessitous circumstances whereas safety distance for HE 20mm cannon is about 35 metres. High density 7.62mm fired at reasonably close ranges is adequately penetrative in jungle and it needs to be delivered from fixed forward firing installations by the pilot flying to assure accuracy.
Turnaround time for the Bushranger gunship in Vietnam was very slick at 10 minutes and would only increase to 15 minutes with substitution of NC621 low recoil 20mm cannon in lieu of rocket pods on a Huey II version. All Bushranger aircrew deplaned to assist with rearming and to relieve aching backsides.
Lack of cannon/gun redundancy on say Apache, Tiger and high recoil cannon cooling cycle constraints (where applicable) are serious negative factors regarding close air support. They can of course be remedied somewhat by substituting podded cannon/guns for Hellfire and 70mm rockets.
The US Marine Corps has kept their UH-1N Hueys up-to-date, adding countermeasures such as infrared jammers and chaff-flare dispensers, forward-looking infrared (FLIR) turrets in the nose, new armament fits, and revised avionics. The conceptual Huey II gunship envisages a 4 man crew, full fuel of 1,400 pounds, armoured seats for pilots and some lightweight armour around engine, transmission and some floor areas. Fully armed in that configuration, there would still be about 500 pound payload availability for a selection of niceties like in the USMC UH-1N.
The ADF now has to live with Tiger but also appreciate its limitations. That requires thinking outside the square and whether it adequately satisfies some basic principles of war; flexibility, versatility and economy of effort. It is thus foolhardy to shed the Iroquois when it could be retained for a secondary gunship role (even if in reserve storage) and proven Huey II would be way ahead of MRH90 for cost-effective utility helo operations.
See these links for more information regarding Huey II:
http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en/aircraft/military/bellHueyII.cfm
The Bell UH-1 Huey
Another image of a UH-1H Bushranger gunship is added to better show the original configuration for those unfamiliar. 2 x NC621 low recoil 20mm cannon pods would be substituted for the rocket launchers on the conceptual Huey II version.
Last edited by Bushranger 71; 24th Jul 2010 at 07:11.