November 29, 2007: When the United States sent
UH-64D Apache helicopter gunships to Afghanistan, they left the Longbow radar
at home. That's because this radar (that can be seen above the rotors) was
designed to find armored vehicles, which were then attacked with missiles. No
enemy armor in Afghanistan, but there are lots of mountain passes you have to
get through, and carrying a few hundred pounds less of radar, makes it easier
for a chopper flying at high altitudes. The British, however, had more powerful
engines on their AH64s, and shipped them over with the Longbow equipment, just
to see what would happen [PHOTO]. It turned out that the Longbow radar was quite useful
in keeping track of the many friendly helicopters that were usually involved in
a mission. There were even a few occasions where the enemy had trucks trying to
escape in the darkness or a sandstorm. The Longbow radar could see through that
ploy, as could the Hellfire missiles carried by the AH-64.
But the most popular weapon used by the British
AH-64 has been the 30mm cannon [VIDEO]. Using high explosive shells, this weapon has
the pinpoint accuracy, and the killing power, the troops need most from a
gunship. Over 20,000 rounds of 30mm ammo have been used so far, and ground
crews rig the choppers to carry more (than the usual 300 rounds) of the 30mm
ammo.
