Armed Helicopters for the U.S. Navy

Abstract

Given today's budget reductions in defense and a shift away from a concept of bipolar conflict towards one of regional stability, properly armed U. S. Navy (USN) helicopters will provide the unified commanders (CINCs) and joint task force commanders (JTFCs) with increased firepower and maximum flexibility. In order to properly support joint and combined operations across the spectrum of conflict and around the world, USN helicopters need to be armed with greater offensive capabilities. The focus of this paper is on active force USN helicopters currently employed and those anticipated to remain in service for at least the next 10 years. Recent world events (Desert Storm) have shown that a legitimate requirement exists for armed helicopters. Current USN helicopters can easily be armed with existing weapons systems. This paper will clearly demonstrate that arming helicopters is feasible and provides significant enhancement to the warfighting capabilities of the USN and the CINCs. Based on the information presented it is quite evident that we need to arm helicopters to meet the multiple threats of today and tomorrow.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 13, 1992
Accession Number
ADA249902

Entities

People

  • Townsend G. Alexander

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Ammunition
  • Anti-Tank Missiles
  • Boats
  • Detection
  • Logistics
  • Medical Evacuation
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Security
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies