Is the attack helicopter dead? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#11

Post by HPsquared » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:40 PM UTC

hollerith wrote: post #3

bhouston wrote: post #2

I think most manned war vehicles are dead now. We are definitely entering into the era of drone-vs-human warfare. Drones are cheap and deadly and can be remotely operated, and soon probably operated by AI.

Yeah, well, the Ukrainian army is on record saying they'd rather have more artillery shells than more drones.

That's another instance of quantity beating quality. It's the same type of thing.

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#12

Post by shawn_w » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:40 PM UTC

verdverm wrote: post #4

Better discussion by Perun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoKpXvj41A (there is a saying or word for titles as questions, and the answer is always no)

Betteridge's law of headlines.

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#13

Post by bitwize » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:40 PM UTC

recursive wrote: post #9

hollerith wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, well, the Ukrainian army is on record saying they'd rather have more artillery shells than more drones.

Artillery shells are not manned vehicles.

But their delivery mechanism may well be.

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#14

Post by krunck » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:43 PM UTC

bamboozled wrote: post #8

bhouston wrote: post #2

I think most manned war vehicles are dead now. We are definitely entering into the era of drone-vs-human warfare. Drones are cheap and deadly and can be remotely operated, and soon probably operated by AI.

Fighter jets, gone ?

They will be when there are AI controlled aircraft/drones that can exceed the G-force limits that humans require and can thus out maneuver any human controlled fighter.

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#15

Post by stonethrowaway » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:44 PM UTC

paulddraper wrote: post #6

I'm surprise the article didn't mention the US military history. The US Army has not had a evolution of its attack helicopter since the 1970s. I remember because one of my favorite childhood games was Comanche 3. [1] Control a helicopter, not crash, not get shot down, neutralize enemies, and achieve mission objectives -- it was cutting-edge for 1997. The Comanche program was scrapped after more than a decade of devel…

Between that, F-22, JSF, Hind and A10, we had some great great games that decade. Still miss Fighter Ace on MSN Gaming Zone.

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#16

Post by pjmlp » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:44 PM UTC

bamboozled wrote: post #8

bhouston wrote: post #2

I think most manned war vehicles are dead now. We are definitely entering into the era of drone-vs-human warfare. Drones are cheap and deadly and can be remotely operated, and soon probably operated by AI.

Fighter jets, gone ?

Replaced by MECHS. :)

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#17

Post by recursive » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:45 PM UTC

bitwize wrote: post #13

recursive wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Artillery shells are not manned vehicles.

But their delivery mechanism may well be.

> may well be

Another way of saying this is "may well not be".

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#18

Post by russdill » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:48 PM UTC

paulddraper wrote: post #6

I'm surprise the article didn't mention the US military history. The US Army has not had a evolution of its attack helicopter since the 1970s. I remember because one of my favorite childhood games was Comanche 3. [1] Control a helicopter, not crash, not get shot down, neutralize enemies, and achieve mission objectives -- it was cutting-edge for 1997. The Comanche program was scrapped after more than a decade of devel…

I remember quite clearly when it was scrapped, because suddenly it was much easier to find a parking spot.

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#19

Post by Retric » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:49 PM UTC

HPsquared wrote: post #10

sneed_chucker wrote: post #5

Part of a broader pattern in military technology right now. All weapon systems that consist of an expensive vehicle and an expensive-to-train crew are being re-evaluated against drones right now. If you're fighting a highly asymmetric conflict where your enemies can barely touch your expensive toys then it's less of a concern. If you're fighting near-peer it's a different story.

Efficiency starts to matter in a near-peer conflict.

Near-peer conflicts have more meaningful targets which favors these kinds of expensive weapons platforms.

A drone that can do meaningful damage to a factory 500+ miles from a front line is either an easy target or it starts to look a lot like a missile with all the associated costs from that.

Re: Is the attack helicopter dead?

#20

Post by aspenmayer » Mon, Oct 07, 2024, 8:50 PM UTC

verdverm wrote: post #4

Better discussion by Perun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnoKpXvj41A (there is a saying or word for titles as questions, and the answer is always no)

Perun seems to know his stuff. That said, I’d be curious to know more about his research process, as well as that of other Russia-Ukraine war mappers/vloggers. Determining whether grainy drone footage is current or past alone seems difficult to me as an outsider and fan of their work, though I wish it weren’t necessary and that the war were over.