Although the 1982 Lebanon War was mainly a guerrilla war, because Israel used Western equipment and tactics to deal with Syria, which relied on the former Soviet system, this conflict was closely related to the defense of Western Europe. pattern. In this war, both Israel and Syria adopted new technologies, and Israel’s effective and proficient use of advanced weapons systems has attracted attention. Both combatants used anti-tank armed helicopters and combat helicopters for the first time in the Middle East and achieved results, thus establishing their status as anti-tank weapons.
The anti-tank missiles that dominated the Middle East wars in the 1970s were eclipsed in the Lebanon War. Although both the Israeli and Syrian armies used a large number of ground-launched anti-tank missiles and rocket launchers, the fierce artillery bombardment and intensive machine gun fire from both sides prevented the anti-tank shooters from raising their heads and aiming at the target. The Syrian pilots, driving Gazelle helicopters carrying "Hot" anti-tank missiles, cleverly avoided Israel's air defense detection radar and unexpectedly flew in column over the Shuf Mountains, dealing a heavy blow to Israel. Israel, which enjoyed air superiority, was unable to stop Syrian helicopters flying at low altitude. In this war, Syria dispatched 93 Oryx helicopters carrying "Hot" anti-tank missiles, hitting 7 Israeli tanks. The Israelis, who are rich in practical experience and have excellent quality, are certainly not far behind. In this war, the Israeli army used 12 AH-1S "Cobra" and 30 Hughes MD-500 anti-tank helicopters, dispatched 130 sorties, conducted 400 hours of combat, and achieved the destruction of 29 Syrian tanks. 4 armored transport vehicles, 52 light armor and various vehicles, and 1 helicopter were brilliant results.
It can be clearly seen from this conflict that "land warfare" and "air warfare" must not be regarded as two separate things. The maneuvers and operations of ground forces extremely require air support; and Ground systems and troops can also provide strong support for air mobility. "Soldiers are more valuable and faster than others." In the modern coordinated operations of various arms, with the air assault force of armed helicopters, today's army's mobility is 20 times that of the earlier infantry units and 8 times that of the mechanized units. The participation of armed helicopters can greatly shorten the process of the war, significantly improve the overall combat effectiveness of the army, and play a decisive impact on the outcome of future wars.
The U.S. military is fully aware of this and has dispatched more than 350 AH-64A Apaches and more than 50 Huey Cobras, together with 80 Oryx sent by France.* A total of 600 armed attack helicopters participated in the Gulf War, taking advantage of the flexible and wide-ranging characteristics of armed helicopters to attack battlefield targets, from attack radars, missile launchers to forward arrays, and boldly used them tactically. Especially in the ground stage, a successful example of large-scale helicopters fighting tanks was created. At the same time, in ground operations, Army Aviation helicopters played an important role in the detour and outflank operations of the 18th Airborne Corps, ensuring the rapid maneuverability of the troops.
As the scope of helicopter applications continues to expand, soon a large part of future land battles will extend to low altitudes 100 meters above the ground, and there will be large-scale helicopter landings between troops or between armed combat helicopters. Fierce battles, interspersed with encounters between armored and mechanized troops, will be an exciting sight. This ushered in a period of rapid development of armed helicopters.
As for the armed helicopter itself, in addition to the high flight speed, strong armor protection and crash resistance capabilities, and powerful firepower, there is another issue that cannot be ignored, that is, it should also be equipped with Advanced electronic equipment. Advanced electronic equipment, like human eyes, ears, and brains, is crucial to improving the combat effectiveness and survivability of armed helicopters in battlefield environments.
Since the 1960s, the widespread application of electronic technology and new optoelectronic technologies in the military has also promoted the improvement of army aviation armed helicopter equipment. It soon became apparent that the traditional approach of adding new single sensors and avionics to legacy systems was not advisable. This not only makes the helicopter more and more equipped and heavier, but also makes the operation more complicated, which causes more disadvantages than advantages. On the contrary, the weapon cannot achieve the expected combat effectiveness. Therefore, since the early 1970s, the United States has proposed an avionics information development plan and made electronic integrated systems widely used on armed helicopters.
The electronic integrated system combines information processing, information transmission and display into an integrated information system. It is a system that can carry out comprehensive control and multi-functional display. The electronic integrated system includes the following subsystems: semi-automatic target recognition, detection and tracking, flight and control, navigation, aircraft survivability, armed control and display, and very high-speed integrated computers. This system makes extensive use of standard structures, digital technologies and data transmission technologies. The use of this system can reduce the weight of the avionics system by 30-40%, reduce the volume by 40-60%, reduce the workload of aircrew by 2/3, and reduce the cost by 15-30%. And the reliability, maintainability and anti-interference ability have been improved exponentially. At the same time, the automatic control and recognition of targets are greatly improved, and the search time is shortened.
The ASQ-166 integrated system developed by the US Army for helicopters can be installed on both multi-purpose armed helicopters and dedicated anti-tank attack helicopters, such as the British "Lynx" and the Italian A129 "Mongoose" helicopters. Both the American and 530 "Defender" anti-tank armed helicopters use integrated electronic equipment systems.
Today, in order to complete their combat missions, armed helicopters equipped with communication equipment, automatic direction finders, Doppler navigators, autopilots and various electronic equipment are as complex and advanced as jet fighters. Comparable.