CAS, interdiction, and attack helicopters
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Authors
Groenke, Andrew S.
Subjects
Advisors
Moran, Daniel
Date of Issue
2005-06
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Within days of a major failed strike by attack helicopters during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) analysts were questioning the value of such platforms on the modern battlefield. As OIF moved from combat to stability operations, helicopter losses from enemy action actually increased seemingly strengthening the argument of those who see the helicopter as unsuitable to some combat operations. Attack helicopter operations have diverged into two distinct categories, interdiction and close air support (CAS), since their inception. This thesis argues that attack helicopters are most suited to perform CAS while their employment in interdiction is problematic at best. Doctrine, tactics, and threat are studied as they applied in the Soviet-Afghan War, Desert Storm, and OIF in order to examine the issue across a range of time and types of warfare.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
viii, 69 p. ;
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.