Originally Posted by
SASless
Apples to Oranges....the Cheyenne was '60's technology and only reached prototype status with three aircraft .
Perhaps that Apache thing was tactics/planning/intel failure generated rather than an aircraft failure!
No argument about the tactics failure, just that tactics need to adjust to reality and that is difficult to determine in exercises. The Army thought it had the answer, they were mistaken. Iirc, over 30 Apaches got badly shot up in that engagement.
Separately, the Cheyenne was much more advanced than the AH-64.
The combination of a pusher prop, a wing and a rigid rotor allowed much better acceleration and maneuverability than the Apache could offer. Technically, the Apache was two steps backward, but it was more powerful and safer than the Cobra, which was what the Army wanted.