Recon Helos

[Historyman]

Watched Blackhawk Down the other day (Not my first time seeing it, but it is a favorite movie of mine and so I felt inclined to watch it) Got me thinking, has anyone ever tried recreating Tom Matthews (Glen Morshower) and Gary Harrell (Zeljko Ivanek) Roles as air/ground coordinator. That is use a helo to fly above the battlefield and help coordinate ground forces? It obviously would work better on insurgency maps as it takes more effort to figure out objectives and enemy locations, not to mention doing something similar on maps with better enemy AA capability would render the position almost useless. Likewise using a scout/command helo to coordinate air efforts could be useful, but less so seeing as there isnt the same communication chain (Command to Coordinator to Gound/Air Forces in the movie, Command Directly to Ground Forces in PR)

What do you think?

[Burton]

I've flown a LB with someone operating the "FLIR". It works and is quite effective at relaying targets and movement, but you're INCREDIBLY vulnerable so isn't really worth it as the difference in tickets you take from the opposing team / tickets your team loses when you get shot down 10minutes later is minimal.

[superhunty]

Kashan spotting armour from up high this can work a dream if you can pull some evasive stuff to avoid AA...

[dtacs]

It can work, however the current FLIR for the LB/Hueys is pretty bad since it has severely limited view distance and the laser designator is a bit too slow (isn't as effective as the GLTD's, but I believe this is due to the fact that its a projectile)

The best recon is always done by a guy up high with some binoculars however.

[Smegburt_funkledink]

I've seen a CO take a ride in a chopper on Quai after he used up his UAV time. I'm not exactly sure how effective it was but it was rather ingenious.

[Historyman]

Kashan spotting armour from up high this can work a dream if you can pull some evasive stuff to avoid AA...

It's obviously much easier to spot movent in a wide open desert like Kashan, but what about urban maps like muttrah or al basrah

[killonsight95]

I've seen a CO take a ride in a chopper on Quai after he used up his UAV time. I'm not exactly sure how effective it was but it was rather ingenious.

yeah i often do that on TG when i command.

[Tim270]

Whenever I fly LB/Attack Hueys I nearly always have a clanmate as co-pilot who gives me markers and observes as we attack targets. He also goes SL so he can relay intel to the commander.

[rampo]

the angle on the LBs is quite bad because you need to go pretty low to actually see something

[Alex6714]

Used to do this with hueys on muttrah when not transporting etc.. Even if you lose a heli its worth it, if people listen to you.

But rapid passes over and a keen eye can help spot enemy movements, as can drawing fire in a rapid pass therefore alerting you to their presence, and also directing attention away from other perhaps more important assets like cobras. You don´t need anyone in the flir unless they have nothing to do either, flir is pretty limited going at full speed and the distortion isnt removed iirc, but a good pilot should be able to spot whats going on below and that intel can be uber valuable to a team that listens.

[ryan d ale]

In a previous version when US had the Littlebirds on Muttrah I often used to take one after a FOBs had been established and had moderate success at spotting vehicles and FOBs. Up REALLY high and I'm really good at getting away with little/no damage from AA. Normally when I get hit by AA I will make it back to the carrier because only one hits or hits a nearby flare.

[ryan d ale]

the angle on the LBs is quite bad because you need to go pretty low to actually see something

I'm not sure I understand?

I used to go up high and face it down and had very few problems with altitude adjustments if that's what you mean hazards/visibility?

[rampo]

I'm not sure I understand?

I used to go up high and face it down and had very few problems with altitude adjustments if that's what you mean hazards/visibility?

try and keep it tilted and stationary long enough for the spotter to get a good look at the area

[Elektro]

try and keep it tilted and stationary long enough for the spotter to get a good look at the area

Most importantly ignore the smoke tracers from rocket launchers, they are quite scary at first but they quickly learn that hitting a LB at 500 altitude with an RPG is harder in practise.

[Drunkenup]

Most importantly ignore the smoke tracers from rocket launchers, they are quite scary at first but they quickly learn that hitting a LB at 500 altitude with an RPG is harder in practise.

But if that man with the rocket has common sense, then it is likely he'll call for help in the form of a LMG or a mounted HMG on a technical of some kind, which means, GTFO.

Theres a story I saw on TV somewhere about a MAGTF USMC commander who flew with UH-1Ns to designate targets himself or something during Desert Storm.

[Unit3d_Kill3r]

Yeah sounds good, You'd need a spotter with nice computer specs and a good eye for optimum effectiveness.

[Eddie Baker]

I think what you mean is a command and control helicopter, not recon.

[Historyman]

I think what you mean is a command and control helicopter, not recon.

Essentially yes. However the new commander UAV's it would seem less practical to put an asset in dangers way. Just wondering if anyone had tried to fulfill this kind of role. Recon is apart the process as using the helo to warn of any enemy movements and direct then accordingly. Think of the scene where the blackhawk spots Somali Militia moving on a parallel street next to US squad, the commander advised them of the situation and gave them new orders in response.

Again though I realize that with only 32 payers per team, there isn't much room to have a dedicated air/ground command and control helicopter

[Predator.v2]

Problem with FLIR is, that if you are flying over 300m (which is necessary to survive in INS vs technicals), you cant see the ground. It is limited to like 45°, i dont say it should be able to turn down to 90° but maybe a little bit more. Or would that be "unrealistic"?