Airborne Combat Engineer

ARH-70 Armed Recon Helicopter

[LINK] Defense Industry Daily

The Army wanted to replace the aging (and increasingly problematic) OH-58D Kiowa Warrior with the stealthy Comanche, but it was canceled after the projected cost per copy rose to $59Mil.

So ... it will settle for the ARH-70, rumored to be eventually named the Arapaho. (The Arapaho were known for stealing horses from the warlike Comanche.)

Bell's ARH-70 is a militarized version of its highly successful Bell 407 single engine commercial helicopter.

The ARH-70 will have a "glass cockpit" (i.e. all-digital, using display screens) based on the Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS). Weapons carried will include Hellfire 2 laser-guided missiles, guns, and 70mm Hydra rockets including the laser-guided APKWS II "Hellfire Jr." versions. It is also envisioned to be digitally intergrated with UAVs, ground command, and other aircraft, possibly including the ability to control UAVs from the helicopter.

A helicopter with it's own squadron of UAVs (possibly armed)? Scary (for the bad guys).

C-130s need to stay at Pope AFB

FortBraggNC.com reports:

Fort Bragg can still get its paratroopers in the air if no C-130s are stationed at Pope Air Force Base, but former Army and Air Force commanders say performance will suffer.

At a hearing in Washington on Tuesday, Mike Flinn, an analyst for the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, suggested that the commission consider removing all permanent airplanes from Pope.

The original recommendation from the Pentagon was to move the 43rd Wing C-130s from Pope and turn the base over to the Army, but to station 16 C-130s from reserve units at the airstrip.

The commission, which is the only body that can change the proposal, must report to the president by Sept. 8. The president and Congress can only accept or reject the entire package.

10OCT65: First airmobile operation

1140Z SUN 10OCT04. History Channel.

39 years ago today, the first airmobile operation commenced.

If I'm not mistaken, this was the first use of an airmobile force in combat.

The 1st Cavalry Division was a new kind of division, which was built around the helicopter and the airmobile concept.

In the first major operation since arriving the previous month, the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) joined with South Vietnamese Marines to strike at 2,000 North Vietnamese troops 25 miles from An Khe in the Central Highlands.