YAH-64
| This page is about the American attack helicopter YAH-64. For other versions, see AH-64 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Hughes YAH-64 was the prototype for the successful AH-64 Apache series attack helicopter, which is in service in numerous countries across the world. Following the cancellation of the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne from the U.S. Army's Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) program on August 9, 1972, as a result of its huge airframe and poor all-weather performance, the U.S. Army launched the Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) program on August 17, 1972. Drawing from the experience of the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army envisioned an attack helicopter with the requirements of a lower minimum top speed of 269 km/h, a twin-engine configuration for better survivability, heavier weaponry, and a longer combat radius than the existing AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter already in service. Bell, the Boeing Vertol/Grumman group, Hughes, Lockheed Martin, and Sikorsky all submitted proposals for the new AAH program. In July 1973, the U.S. Department of Defense chose Bell (also known as the Bell Helicopter Company) and Hughes (later acquired by McDonnell Douglas, which made it a subsidiary and renamed it McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems) as the final candidates for the AAH program, where both companies were instructed to construct their prototype helicopters for flight testing. Hughes' prototype YAH-64 first flew on September 30, 1975, whereas Bell's prototype YAH-63 first flew on October 1, 1975. In 1976, Hughes' YAH-64 prototype was chosen over Bell's YAH-63 prototype, primarily due to its more damage-tolerant four-blade main rotor and more stable landing gear layout. Initially, the U.S. Army intended that the YAH-63 would be armed with a 30 mm cannon and 16 TOW anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). However, as the still-in-development air-to-ground missile (AGM-114) Hellfire promised better range and lethality than the TOW ATGM, the anti-tank missile armament specification was later changed to 16 AGM-114 Hellfires, which became the mainstay of the U.S. Army attack helicopter anti-armour weaponry.
Introduced in the Update "Direct Hit", the YAH-64 is a two-seat, twin-engine ground attack helicopter with the gunner (front) and pilot (rear) sitting in tandem, similar to the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. Equipped with a thermal imaging device and armed with the AGM-114 Hellfire B variant as its primary anti-armour weapon, it can easily spot targets from a long distance and engage targets as far away as 8 km using semi-active laser homing (SALH), which is significantly beyond the range of most SPAA vehicles, with the exception of some radar-guided SAM missiles. Players can also choose to equip Hydra-70 M247 rockets for light anti-armour purposes, which is made easier by the installation of a ballistic computer on board. As an early prototype of the iconic AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the YAH-64 lacks infrared countermeasure (IRCM) and flare/chaff countermeasures. It also lacks any air-to-air missiles, limiting its capacity to engage air targets effectively.
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | ||
| Stock | 278 | 262 | 4500 |
| Upgraded | 321 | 300 | |
Survivability and armour
Examine the survivability of the helicopter. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical systems.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | ||
|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) |
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Offensive armament
The YAH-64 is armed with:
- 1 x 30 mm M230E-1 cannon, chin turret (1,200 rpg)
Suspended armament
The YAH-64 can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:
- Without load
- 76 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
- 8 x AGM-114B Hellfire missiles
- 16 x AGM-114B Hellfire missiles
Custom loadout options
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydra-70 M247 rockets | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | |
| AGM-114B Hellfire missiles | 2, 4 | 2, 4 | 2, 4 | 2, 4 |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in a helicopter, the features of using the helicopter in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Activation of 3rd person lock by changing MFD on the pilot's view
- Amazing 30 mm cannon, can easily take out most tanks, and when locked can take out jets and helicopters too
- Can carry up to 16 Hellfire air-to-ground missiles
- Can use ballistic computer to dramatically increase the effectiveness of Hydra rockets
- Can lock targets for 30 mm cannon to automatically track
- Excellent thermals
- Well armoured for a helicopter, can take 2-3 critical hits to take it down, may survive hits from SAMs
Cons:
- Not equipped with air-to-air missiles
- Does not have as many armament options as the regular AH-64
- The 30 mm cannon is relatively inaccurate
- Lack of IRCM and countermeasures
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the helicopter in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the helicopter;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| USA helicopters | |
|---|---|
| Attack | |
| Black Hawk | MH-60L DAP |
| Choctaw | H-34 |
| Cobra | AH-1F · AH-1G · AH-1Z |
| SuperCobra | AH-1W |
| Kiowa | OH-58D |
| Little Bird | AH-6M |
| Apache | YAH-64 · AH-64A · ▃AH-64A Peten · AH-64A (GR) · AH-64D |
| Utility | |
| Huey | UH-1B · UH-1C · UH-1C XM-30 |
| Squadron helicopters | |
|---|---|
| USA | YAH-64 |
| Britain | Superhind |
