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Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

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31–40 of 174 posts

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#31

Where do attack helicopters fit into modern war, out of curiosity? From my very uninformed point of view -- seems like in a world where man-portable weapons are getting more and more capable, being in a relatively (compared to jets) slowly moving, lightly (?) armored flying vehicle would be pretty terrifying.

Manpads really aren't all that effective against helicopters. I don't think anything has fundamentally changed in the past 40ish years in regards to the ubiquitousness of manpads or how they work. Helicopters are comparatively cheap, effective, flexible and difficult to shoot down without proper AA, but that's what combined arms is for, or a lot of luck. Only about 40 helicopters were lost to hostile fire in Iraq from 2004-2009. I'd say the flexibility is the main reason why you can't get rid of helicopters in modern armies. There are just things that planes can't do without protected airspace or a controlled airfield.

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#32

Where do attack helicopters fit into modern war, out of curiosity? From my very uninformed point of view -- seems like in a world where man-portable weapons are getting more and more capable, being in a relatively (compared to jets) slowly moving, lightly (?) armored flying vehicle would be pretty terrifying.

No post body was provided.

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#33
post #31

Where do attack helicopters fit into modern war, out of curiosity? From my very uninformed point of view -- seems like in a world where man-portable weapons are getting more and more capable, being in a relatively (compared to jets) slowly moving, lightly (?) armored flying vehicle would be pretty terrifying.

Manpads really aren't all that effective against helicopters. I don't think anything has fundamentally changed in the past 40ish years in regards to the ubiquitousness of manpads or how they work. Helicopters are comparatively cheap, effective, flexible and difficult to shoot down without proper AA, but that's what combined arms is for, or a lot of luck. Only about 40 helicopters were lost to hostile fire in Iraq fro…

No post body was provided.

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#35
post #33
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manpads really aren't all that effective against helicopters. I don't think anything has fundamentally changed in the past 40ish years in regards to the ubiquitousness of manpads or how they work. Helicopters are comparatively cheap, effective, flexible and difficult to shoot down without proper AA, but that's what combined arms is for, or a lot of luck. Only about 40 helicopters were lost to hostile fire in Iraq fro…

Quoted post unavailable.

This is HN. Can we not use derogatory terms here?

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#36
post #31

Where do attack helicopters fit into modern war, out of curiosity? From my very uninformed point of view -- seems like in a world where man-portable weapons are getting more and more capable, being in a relatively (compared to jets) slowly moving, lightly (?) armored flying vehicle would be pretty terrifying.

Manpads really aren't all that effective against helicopters. I don't think anything has fundamentally changed in the past 40ish years in regards to the ubiquitousness of manpads or how they work. Helicopters are comparatively cheap, effective, flexible and difficult to shoot down without proper AA, but that's what combined arms is for, or a lot of luck. Only about 40 helicopters were lost to hostile fire in Iraq fro…

Manpads have changed massively. There are still 30+yo systems in the field, which gives a false impression of the tech, but there are also very sophisticated new systems too.

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#37

India could benefit greatly from restricting the emmigration of her top talented people. Right now the smartest Indians work abroad. The increasingly anti-west foreign policy might be early indications of steps towards that.

The current govt is the most pro western it's ever been. India was usually on the Soviet side of the cold war

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#38

Is there any point to helicopters anymore with the increasing capabilities of drones? See Turkish drone use in UA/RU war. For a single helicopter, you could blanket the skies with drones. Now they aren't dirt cheap, $5 million, but that's a hellva lot cheaper than a single heli.

No drone yet has the situational awareness and reaction time to match a pair of humans in a helicopter. The ability to react quickly to an evolving situation hasnt yet been replicated.

Re: Indian Air Force inducts natively developed light combat helicopter ‘Prachanda’

#39
post #33
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manpads really aren't all that effective against helicopters. I don't think anything has fundamentally changed in the past 40ish years in regards to the ubiquitousness of manpads or how they work. Helicopters are comparatively cheap, effective, flexible and difficult to shoot down without proper AA, but that's what combined arms is for, or a lot of luck. Only about 40 helicopters were lost to hostile fire in Iraq fro…

Quoted post unavailable.

I am very much pro Ukraine and all that. But please let’s keep having respect for other humans. No matter how much we hate them. That’s also part of our value system we’re defending over there.
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