Helicopter reconnaissance techniques were evaluated against diverse ground complexes in terms of relative acquisition capabilities and helicopter survivability. Two types of reconnaissance missions are envisioned for the 1965-1975 time frame, the first of which would be a truly high-level area survey of the complete battle area. This might be carried out by fixed-wing aircraft operating at altitudes of 45,000 ft or more. The second type of reconnaissance mission would be battlefield surveillance over forward areas. This might be carried out by unmanned aerial drones, groundreconnaissance elements, fixed-wing aircraft flying at low altitude, or helicopters of an air cavalry troop. In a tank-vs-tank exercise conducted in Germany in July 1962 a single helicopter was tactically employed as support to one of the tank forces. Although no conclusions were drawn from this limited activity, the exercise did suggest some interesting implications on the tactical use of helicopters and served as a feasibility study for the work presented in this paper. (Author)
Reconnaissance Techniques for Light Observation Helicopters in a Summer Environment: A Twosided Field Play
1964
227 pages
Report
No indication
English
Aircraft , Military Operations, Strategy, & Tactics , Helicopters , Aerial reconnaissance , Low altitude , Terrain , Deployment , Tactical warfare , Surface targets , Target aquisition , Survival(Personnel) , Kill probabilities , Air-to-ground , Maneuvers , Armed forces (United States) , Mission profiles , Tanks (Combat vehicles)