AH-1 Cobra downed by manpad

[Mister Fork]

To spoof it you'd have to decoy/jam/blind the missile in the low-IR, medium-IR and ultraviolet spectrum at the same time.

If memory serves me correct, the operator also has the option to select which mode to use - and there are also optional radar units you can plug the Verba it into from vehicle mounted arrays.  Meaning it has optional sources for radar info, tracking, locking, and engagement.

Wouldn't want to be a slow in a chopper against one of those.

[Serenity]

What I don't understand, why destroy an aircraft and the pilots?  Would it be better to cripple a helicopter/plane, force it to crash land, and injure the crew?  That takes waaaay more resources to deal with than someone who is just dead and the aircraft just a smoking ruin.  The goal of any portable  MANPAD should be to damage an aircraft... no?

Typical Russian hammer approach to weapons.

How? Damaging an aircraft without destroying it is like trying to manufacture a precision nuke...

[Oldman731]

like trying to manufacture a precision nuke...

Clearly you have never heard of the Davy Crockett.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)

Only trouble was finding volunteer operators....

- oldman

[Serenity]

Clearly you have never heard of the Davy Crockett.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)

Only trouble was finding volunteer operators....

- oldman

A half mile lethal fallout range isn't exactly precision lol.

[Vudu15]

Those anti radar systems are super expensive most countries save us and our allies don't have them. Same goes for detection. They may not have even they were being engaged/not enough time for counter measures. Also that's and older cobra single engine dual rotor. There are some things US helos use but they wouldn't have saved you from that at that range and time to react. Speed and use of terrain would have helped them but trying to support ground guys in hill like that just gears man pads to make good shots. Turks gotta pay the troll to fight the Kurds.

Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk

[Rich46yo]

Anyone ID the MANPAD? I imagine it must be a fairly modern Russian Bloc and that since the Russians are still pissed over Losing that Jabo to the Turks they are giving the Kurds some good stuff. I didnt notice any counter measures used by the chopper. Am I correct? This is certainly not an old system being used here.

It sucks to be Low and slow in the modern battle air space dont it?

[GScholz]

9K38 Igla

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9K38_Igla

[Zimme83]

It's a SA-18, they are rather common in the area, they have been used by rebels against the Syrian Airforce on several occasions. It's impossible to say how they got it.

[Vulcan]

I would say no, damage the plane beyond repair should be priority since they are very expensive and takes time to replace. Air crew are also very valuable and hard to replace so you want them out definitely. For other weapon systems wounding rather than killing is preferable since an injured grunt need a lot more resources than a dead one.

But for air crafts first priority is to make sure neither them or the crew ever flies again, how you do it is secondary.

NM sorry read that wrong

[Zimme83]

?

[save]

Dead pilots recover much more slowly than wounded ones...

[Mister Fork]

How? Damaging an aircraft without destroying it is like trying to manufacture a precision nuke...

I think Serenity you just answered your own question.  Russia always goes for the hammer - where the US goes for a more 'strategic' approach.

[EskimoJoe]

Dead pilots recover much more slowly than wounded ones...

If it were my guys getting lit up by an enemy helicopter, I'd want them completely dead.

War is cruel. I'd take the death of an enemy helo crew over giving them a chance to escape with damage, or crash and leave me a helo that I can do nothing with, and a crew that can enter the fight again.