TerraN_EmpirE
Tyrant King
that's true of any attack helicopter, any where.
Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter Gollevainen
- Start date
that's true of any attack helicopter, any where.
MwRYum
Major
They're confident that their SAM emplacements - probably the most saturated on Earth - will be more than adequate to maintain airspace denial against PLAAF / PLAN-AF assets, and SM-2 will be able to deal with SRBMs...or at least, long enough for Uncle Sam to the rescue.
Lol and that's the rub of it.
Possibly the most concentrated SAMs in the world vs the most concentrated basing of SRBMs in the world...
thunderchief
Senior Member
Well IMHO Apache is waste of money for Taiwan . Don't get me wrong , Apache is very good attack helicopter , but how they going to employ it against China ? If PLA manages to land on Taiwan and establish bridgehead it would be almost all over . PLA has lots of modern SAMs (especially MANPADs) , you could expect that PLAAF would have local air-superiority over their own troops . In such environment and considering relatively small size of Taiwan (dense concentration of troops) I don't think any attack helicopter , no matter how good it is , would achieve much .
plawolf
Lieutenant General
There have been claims of two helicopter kills against fighters in the Iran-Iraq war, with an F14 and F4 as the claimed victims.
I also remember reading reports of fastjet drivers getting a nasty surprise when they tangoed with apaches and vipers during exercises.
I cannot find the reports about the exercises now, but from what I can remember, the attack helicopters basically either when into hover and/or ducked behind terrain to mask themselves from the fighter's radar, and then got a burst off with their cannon, or AAMs if they were carrying any, as the fighters went past and scored a few 'kills'.
Considering the bulk of the PLAAF's J10 and Flanker fleets still employ PD radars, going into hover mode can still be an effective tactic, although J10Bs and Flankers with their IRSTs may not be so easily fooled by the hover trick.
To be honest, I think the PLA's WZ9, Z10 and WZ19 fleets are going to be a far bigger threat to Taiwan's Apaches than PLAAF fastjets. Because let's not forget, the Chinese are the only ones to have developed a dedicated AAM for their helicopters, and the likes of the WZ9 and WZ19, while mediocre attack helicopters in the ground attack role, would make supreme attack helicopter killers when loaded with TY90s.
vesicles
Colonel
In any event of a PLA attack, those SAMs would be the first targets by the mainland missiles and first to go out.
vesicles
Colonel
Yep! The only time that the Apaches would be in use would be when the PLA tanks have landed on Taiwan. By that time, PLA has already established air and naval superiority. Everything is over by that time...
joshuatree
Captain
Probably best use would be in protracting resistance in areas like urban warfare or maybe around the mountains so PLAAF air superiority would be offset by the terrain conditions.
thunderchief
Senior Member
Attack helicopters are almost useless in urban warfare because they need to move around tall buildings to engage enemies , where they become susceptible not only to MANPADs but even to simple RPGs or heavy machine guns . In mountains , they could hide behind terrain features . Taiwan is mountainous country , but main cities are on west plain and PLA would most likely focus their attack there . I don't think there will be many PLA tanks and other armored vehicles going for the central mountain ridges .
The idea would be to use them should the PLA attempt to establish that beachhead. Just because they start an amphibious assault does not mean it will be successful.
Of course, the best way to keep it from being successful is to try and make sure they never get that far.
But, should they get that far and start sending troops in, then the next step is to defeat them on or near the beach and prevent a breakout. That has happened before. The Gallipoli landings in World War I, the 1st Japanese attempt on Wake Island in 1941, the Dieppe landing in 1942. In addition, there were some close calls like Utah Beach and Tarawa Island.
So, I believe the Taiwan forces would try to use the Apaches and other forces to try and get the landings to fail and keep a beachhead from being secured.
Let's hope we never have to find out if they would be successful.