Quote:
Originally posted by FACE
Fucking freedom fighters brought down the super-advanced hitech flying marvel with their shitty 3rd-worlder rusty AK47s...
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Yup, in 2001-02 over 80% were badly damaged by ground fire.
An additional problem is that when firing the Hellfire missiles, fragments can fly into the rotors damaging them. To combat this, the pilots have been told to fire missiles only from the right-side pylon.
The craft have also proved themselves unsuitable for desert operations, they require repair and maintenance in a ratio greater than 2:1 for hours of flight.
Also have to remember these were designed to fight WWIII in Europe, not the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Couple other points to ponder, a new Apache is about $50 million a pop, a Russian Hind-24 Gunship can be bought for about $3 million a pop and were overdesigned to fight in just about any climate. Asymmetric warfare with Buck Rogers whiz bang hardware just isn't going to work in the long run.