ah6

[Yoshama 0]

What is the ah6 little bird good for?

it has 14 rockets and 1-2 minutes of minigun. the rockets cant take out tanks, and there is just enough for one squad of soldiers. the minigun sucks because it is hard to aim the chopper to get  the best result before you are having to go in for another strafe run. if you loiter over inf too long they easily kill you.

I tried once on an evolution server to go slow in the streets, and be a mg platform killing troops and stuff, but that doesn't work. i cant think of  anyway to use this as a combat effective chopper.

[Clavicula_nox4817 0]

It's just meant to support the larger helicopters, it's not meant to be the primary attacker.

[walker 0]

Hi all

The correct attack mode for the AH6 is high level, high angle, high speed dive, point attacks. Usually against fixed positions and infantry OPFOR in known locations.

The idea is to present minimum aspect and maximum fire power in the attack with fast egress on completion.

Kind Regards walker

[ModaFlanker 0]

Its supposed to cost cheaper [at least in missions where you have to buy helicopters from a certain income].  Sort of like how America had weaker Sherman tanks in WW2 but was able to mass produce them and outweigh the Nazi tanks.

The AH6 MG is pretty deadly, at least to me.  I tried to hide once when I wasnt sure if the AH6 had seen me or not, but the pilot sprayed the area where he last saw me [and I was hiding in some bushes] and quickly cleared me out... the area was absolutely carpeted with bullet strikes which swiss-cheesed me.

The rockets can kill tanks, they just have to land accurately, and from a high angle they can exploit the weaker armor from up top. Clearly though with the limited number, these rockets are far more effective when used against infantry and defense emplacements.

Follow what walker says--- high speed strike and pass.  After the pass, hug the terrain so if you are able to dip over some hills then whoever you just attacked cannot return fire when they finally get the weapons pointed at you.

[LeftSkidLow 1]

In real life.....the only unit in the US that uses the AH-6 is the Army's 160th SOAR, so cost has nothing to do with it. It probably has more to do with its a small, very reconfigurable helicopter, that fits easily on a C-130 so it can be deployed easily on a moments notice. I'd guess it's designed to give maximum amount of firepower to special forces in a small, relatively quiet platform that can work closer with the troops than an MH-60 or AH-64.... also part interchangeability with the MH-6 probably doesn't hurt.

Ingame.... it kind sucks because 1 bullet can make your engine fail.

[max power 21]

With the ah6, it really helps to know where you are attacking exactly before you're even in the area. Because of its vulnerability and the fact it doesn't have a turret, it's hard to loiter around with it and pick off targets as you see them. Get in, unload, get out... coordinate with ground forces or have good intelligence before going in. That's how I play them, at any rate.

[Benoist 0]

You could use smoke granades (they are in the game, use it! to select you target, the pilot'll just have to locate the smoke and fire all his payload.

If I remember right, in reality they do the same but with LD.

[Kolt 0]

AH1Z-Heavy Targets. Fortified positions. hoards of infantry.

AH-6/UH60FFAR- Light targets. Thin skin vehicals, mainly support the infantry.

[Infam0us 10]

This might help ...

[ModaFlanker 0]

This might help ...

Heh, Dslyecxi makes awesome videos Definitely hardcore ArmA.

I second this video as an excellent watch [and listen, with a stirring soundtrack].

[mr burns 131]

This might help ...

lol that´s about the MH-6 dude!

Aint no place for more than one passenger in the AH-6 so all that doesn´t really apply.

I too find it hard to kill inf with the gattligs, kinda surpising regarding the ROF .. actually i´d expect it to be a really deadly and useful weapon in RL but in ArmA it just wont work right.

So the only role left for ArmA´s AH-6 is light fire support, mostly suppressing large infantry groups in the open and taking pot shots at bmp´s with it´s rockets.

[Daniel 0]

It's a shame launched smoke grenades arn't in the game by standard, but having them in addon form makes CAS much more effective. AH-6s are great for blatting infantry in the open, or for hitting into bunkered positions.

[sparks50 0]

I would disagree that ah6 is unusable in urban warfare, you do have to keep a very high situational awareness though, and shoot in bursts.

[kocrachon 2]

Ok, Watch Black Hawk Down and you will see how not only is the AH-6 a great attack helicopter for infantry support, but it works VERY well in urban envoirments. infact its a great street sweaper. It can go down a street or alley way and gun out anyone in an easy flight path because of the fast rate of fire and its fast speed. The little bird is a great urban helicopter.

Does a better job in urban anti infantry then the UH-60 and AH-64... UH-60 is an overly large profile that is easy to hit while looking for targets in the city, and the AH-64 has an even more limited ammo on its machine gun and is slower and again has a larger profile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AH-6

They see alot of action, and they do a great job at anti infantry and light vehicles.

[Daniel 0]

The AH6 also doesn't have the momentum of the AH1-Z, it can make quicker more urgent stops and turns at speed.

[monty67t 0]

Ok, Watch Black Hawk Down and you will see how not only is the AH-6 a great attack helicopter for infantry support, but it works VERY well in urban envoirments. infact its a great street sweaper. It can go down a street or alley way and gun out anyone in an easy flight path because of the fast rate of fire and its fast speed. The little bird is a great urban helicopter.

Does a better job in urban anti infantry then the UH-60 and AH-64... UH-60 is an overly large profile that is easy to hit while looking for targets in the city, and the AH-64 has an even more limited ammo on its machine gun and is slower and again has a larger profile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AH-6

They see alot of action, and they do a great job at anti infantry and light vehicles.

Before I respond, are you talking about real life or in game? As a seven year veteran of U.S. Army Aviation I have a response, but I want to make sure we are on the same page first.

[Infam0us 10]

lol that´s about the MH-6 dude!

Sssh nobody noticed

[Cpt. FrostBite 0]

Ok, Watch Black Hawk Down and you will see how not only is the AH-6 a great attack helicopter for infantry support, but it works VERY well in urban envoirments. infact its a great street sweaper. It can go down a street or alley way and gun out anyone in an easy flight path because of the fast rate of fire and its fast speed. The little bird is a great urban helicopter.

Does a better job in urban anti infantry then the UH-60 and AH-64... UH-60 is an overly large profile that is easy to hit while looking for targets in the city, and the AH-64 has an even more limited ammo on its machine gun and is slower and again has a larger profile.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AH-6

They see alot of action, and they do a great job at anti infantry and light vehicles.

Before I respond, are you talking about real life or in game? As a seven year veteran of U.S. Army Aviation I have a response, but I want to make sure we are on the same page first.

Can I respond first?

1) the apache and cobra both have a turret mounted machinegun that can be aimed by the gunner. The AH-6 has miniguns that have very little movement if not fixed completely.

2) both the apache and cobra have their vital parts quite heavily armoured. Although small-arms fire is allways a danger to any chopper the apache and cobra can sustain quite some punishment is really needed. The AH-6 is almost unarmoured except for maybe some panels for the crew. This makes it extremely vulnerable to any form of enemy ground-fire.

3) The only reason the AH-6 would do well in an urban setting is, like the Oh-58, the pilots have a very large field of view and for observation purposes these birds are perfect (that's why it was used as such in vietnam). Especially in urban settings the pilots can look out of the side and look down onto the street. An apache or cobra pilot can not look down.

4) on the UH-60; it's a TRANSPORT, not an attack helicopter. So don't even bother bringing it up

The AH-6 is used by the SOAR because it's small, light, quiet and for a very important other reason; it could be used as in infiltration helicopter looking like a civilian version. That's why the SOAR uses the round nosed version instead of the newer pointed nose version, because the older version was used a lot as a civilian chopper all over the world.

In somalia it indeed proofed to be a nice extra that it was small enough to tough down on the street and pick-up wounded, but they did not think of these things when selecting this bird.

[dslyecxi 23]

The use of the AH-6 in ArmA depends entirely on what kind of mission you're hoping to use it in. It is unquestionably a light attack helo and should not be expected to fare well in a high-threat area - manpads, armor, and an abundance of heavy machineguns will take one down in short order. For that sort of situation, you should be using something more appropriate - ie, the Cobra.

The AH-6 excels in lower-intensity fighting. If your enemy is lacking in heavy air defense (or anti-air missiles), does not have much (if any) significant armor, and relies on infantry and soft vehicles to fight, the AH-6 is a fantastic counter. They are fast, small targets, and carry a respectable armament considering their size. You cannot brawl with them, but proper attack profiles - ie, diving in, firing from extended range, and breaking off before you get into effective enemy range - will result in uncontested success.

In the context of ArmA gameplay, I find the AH-6 to be extremely compelling as a CAS aircraft. It is demanding and difficult to be successful in, which I like. There is no "easy mode" switch in it, as in the Cobra (the Hellfires) - every shot you take with an AH-6 is aimed with your Mk1 Mod0 eyeballs, without any special guidance or correction. The slightest mistake can and will prove fatal. It requires a great deal of skill to succeed as an AH-6 pilot, especially in adversarial gameplay against actual humans.

[dm 9]

and for a very important other reason; it could be used as in infiltration helicopter looking like a civilian version. That's why the SOAR uses the round nosed version instead of the newer pointed nose version, because the older version was used a lot as a civilian chopper all over the world.

This has nothing to do with why the 160TH uses the H-6.

The reason SOAR continues to use the round nose version, is that thier airframes are original H-6's (the H-6 actually still has the round nose design) and NOT the MD500, which was a seperate design fork of the series (think ArmA / VBS, similar, but different, related but not). The A/MH-6 series are just continual upgrades of the original airframes, and as such would not incorporate the new nose, since that requires vast structural changes (increased dimensions and so on) to add.

Looking like a civilian helicopter is neither a worry, nor relevant for military operations, if you want a helicopter that looks civilian, you simply get a civilian helicopter.

[Saphirefenix 0]

Another thing to note... with ANY game what so ever, you lack the physical sense of flying/shooting.. ANYTHING.

Track IR will really improve the vision factor... but FEELING what you are doing just isn't there.

And I use the AH-6 all the time in warfare to clear out camps around the city before I send my infantry in. Just buzz in, fly up unload the 4000RPM chaingun, as ammo isn't really a problem on such a short attack, and then fire 4 missles, roll around so any survivors cant hit you (the pilot).... then your infantry can go in pretty easy. Although the AI path finding sucks and they usually take 3 days to take the camp as they get stuck in the open... if youve had that happen before.

Off topic here, but to further enforce my point about the feel. I am a paintball ambush sniper for a CSPO team, the good gun, ghillie, the whole nine yards. And I sneak around a lot stalking people, setting ambushes. And I must say, that without the actual physical feeling, the exertion, having to time your breathing so you don't get caught in a hyper ventilating state after sprinting 200 metres through the bush etc. its boring... In a game, your just sitting there.. no feeling. Which is why I can only play a covert ops style in a game for so long before becoming impatient, as my mind isn't occupied with the physical stresses.

This further applies to the AH-6, because you want to get there fast... you don't have the thrill, the feeling, of flying through the air... so you get impatient.

Thats my main problem anyway, I want to get there fast, I go too fast, cant slow down in time, or miss an enemy and boom.. your toast.

[Henk 0]

Another thing to note... with ANY game what so ever, you lack the physical sense of flying/shooting.. ANYTHING.

Track IR will really improve the vision factor... but FEELING what you are doing just isn't there.

And I use the AH-6 all the time in warfare to clear out camps around the city before I send my infantry in. Just buzz in, fly up unload the 4000RPM chaingun, as ammo isn't really a problem on such a short attack, and then fire 4 missles, roll around so any survivors cant hit you (the pilot).... then your infantry can go in pretty easy. Although the AI path finding sucks and they usually take 3 days to take the camp as they get stuck in the open... if youve had that happen before.

Off topic here, but to further enforce my point about the feel. I am a paintball ambush sniper for a CSPO team, the good gun, ghillie, the whole nine yards. And I sneak around a lot stalking people, setting ambushes. And I must say, that without the actual physical feeling, the exertion, having to time your breathing so you don't get caught in a hyper ventilating state after sprinting 200 metres through the bush etc. its boring... In a game, your just sitting there.. no feeling. Which is why I can only play a covert ops style in a game for so long before becoming impatient, as my mind isn't occupied with the physical stresses.

This further applies to the AH-6, because you want to get there fast... you don't have the thrill, the feeling, of flying through the air... so you get impatient.

Thats my main problem anyway, I want to get there fast, I go too fast, cant slow down in time, or miss an enemy and boom.. your toast.

You have clearly not been up against some serious human resistance in a mission that doesn't have respawn.

Once you do that, you'll notice that other psychological factors come into play.

You can't just buzz in if the enemies on the ground really feel like shooting your bird down.

[Commando84 0]

The Ah-6 totally pwnz at taking out infantery if they aren't prepared for you ( aiming and shooting strelas or PK machine gun fire at you )

It also is nice at flying fast!

It can take out a bmp if you are skilled enough and the bmp moves relatively slow so you can hit it with all 14 ffars

I also discovered a new way to get killed in Arma as a blackhawk pilot! i played berzerk earlier today and i got shoot down by Ah-6 chopper using its tiny miniguns.

[max power 21]

I want to hear what Monty has to say.

[Saphirefenix 0]

Well until tonight I have never played MP, as I was only borrowing a friends.. but I bought my own copy yesterday.. and I LOVE ArmA multiplayer.

Shot with the AH-6 miniguns in a blackhawk.... awesome lol.

While playing warfare MP for the first time, I actually got shot down in a city in an AH-6... wasn't too good, took out my engine as I was trying to blast some UAZ's and I had to emergency land on top of the depot... which turned out fine because I captured it lol.

But I learned a lesson today... NEVER fly over a building in a city, even if you cant reach your target by road... don't fly over the buildings, go around lol.