AH-64A Peten (USA)

▃AH-64A Peten

▃AH-64A Peten

USA

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.3	11.3	10.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Attack helicopter

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Description

The ▃AH-64A Peten is a premium gift rank VI American attack helicopter with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/SB) and 11.3 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".

General info

Flight performance

The AH-64A Peten is one of the fastest helicopters in the game as it has a very powerful engine, which also gives the Peten a good climb rate. Manoeuvrability at high speed is excellent.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)
	AB	RB
Stock	___	___	5,400
Upgraded	324	300

Survivability and armour

The Peten is a very tough helicopter, and can usually take a couple of hits from air-to-air missiles and small-calibre cannon rounds and still fly. The crew is very well protected, so getting pilot-sniped is a rare occurrence. The engines can also usually take a hit or two without exploding like other engines.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The AH-64A Peten (USA) is armed with:

• 1 x 30 mm M230E-1 cannon, chin turret (1,200 rpg)

The Peten has the same 30 mm cannon as the other Apaches in the game currently, and only has one belt choice. The belt carries only HEDP rounds, and can penetrate up to 51 mm of armour. The gun is fast firing, but relatively inaccurate, so shooting in close range is the best way to hit your target. If you don't mind the inaccuracy of the gun, it is a very good weapon all around. It can be locked in gunner and 3rd person view and will automatically track the target.

Suspended armament

The AH-64A Peten (USA) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 76 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
• 8 x AGM-114B Hellfire missiles + 38 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
• 16 x AGM-114B Hellfire missiles
• 4 x AIM-92 Stinger missiles
• 4 x AIM-92 Stinger missiles + 76 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets
• 16 x AGM-114B Hellfire missiles + 4 x AIM-92 Stinger missiles

The Peten can carry up to 16 Hellfire ATGMs with over 1,000 mm of pen, 76 Hydra rockets with over 200 mm of pen, or 4 Stinger AAMs. The weapons are carried on the stub wings and can be carried in several different variations. The Hellfires are excellent missiles, although since the player must keep "painting" a laser beam on the target, misses can occur if the target lock slips. The Hydra rockets are generally very effective, especially when used with the ballistic computer. 76 rockets is enough for 3-5 tanks if they are used by an experienced player. However, the Stinger AAMs are not the best in the game by any stretch, with relatively little explosive mass and only a 10G overload. They may take 2-3 hits to damage aircraft, and heavily armoured helicopters such as the Mi-28 may survive multiple hits.

Usage in battles

Overview:

The AH.64A Peten is an excellent helicopter for attacking ground targets, and can also hold its own against many enemy aircraft. Through adequate use of cover, teamwork, and game sense, the Apache can easily dismantle enemy teams. An Apache pilot must understand all of the tools at their disposal. The only difference between the Peten and the tech tree AH.64A is that the Peten lacks access to the Aim-9L sidewinder as an ordinance option.

The Apache has an arsenal of weapons. The most effective anti-tank weapon in the Apache’s arsenal is the AGM114 Hellfire, which uses a top attack trajectory to destroy ground vehicles. There is functionally very little difference between the AGM114B and K variants, used on early and late Apaches respectively.

Staying Alive:

Flying the Apache effectively can be more difficult than most players would imagine. Trying to deal with threats from enemy air and ground vehicles while continuing to attack the enemy team can be difficult. If distracted, a pilot can quickly lose situational awareness. Being successful in the Apache requires above all else situational awareness. Due to the fragility of the helicopter, any blindspot can lead to a quick and sudden death. Additionally, the mobility of the Apache is adequate but not impressive, so evasive maneuvers are not always effective.

Using cover is a very important part of staying alive in the Apache. Always stay behind a hill or building in ground battles. When exposing yourself in order to fire on the enemy, be mindful to not gain too much altitude. Most importantly, Always listen to your RWR. If you hear an alarm, take evasive action immediately.

Additionally, it is important to know when to use flares. Flares are extremely effective against heat-seeking missiles, but useless against any other missiles. It is the responsibility of the Apache pilot to recognize the threat and decide whether to use flares or not. 

Air to Air (Stinger and Gun):

The Apache is surprisingly potent in air to air combat. Engagements should be conducted primarily through the use of the FIM-92 stinger missile. The stinger is a simple but effective air to air missile. It has an excellent seeker head and can obtain all aspect lock on almost any air target within 3-5km (even propellor aircraft with a low heat signature). However, the stinger can be easily fooled by flares or outmaneuvered by a fast enemy aircraft. The best way to use the stinger against enemy aircraft is when they are heading directly towards you. If fired at the right second, most enemies will struggle to dodge a stinger.

If the enemy gets close, the 30mm autocannon can be extremely effective. The gun will automatically aim with optical lock, so Apache pilots can aim accurately while taking evasive maneuvers.

Close Range Air to Ground (Gun and Rockets):

At close range, the Apache has excellent offensive capability. The 30mm autocannon is incredibly accurate even at surprisingly far distances. This cannon uses a High Explosive Dual Purpose round that can engage lightly armored targets. Rocket pods can also be used, with the CCIP computer helping maintain accuracy even at further distances. Be careful when trying to use the Hellfire missile at close range. It can do a direct attack at closer ranges (rather than it’s usual top attack) but if fired at an odd angle, it may not have time to maneuver onto the target if fired at closer ranges.

The problem with trying to engage at close range is that doing so will put the Apache in huge amounts of danger. Enemy tanks will be able to quickly destroy the Apache with their main guns or anti-aircraft machineguns.

Long Range Air to Ground (Hellfire): 

At longer ranges, the Hellfire missile can be used to full effect. The hellfire will guide on its target as shown in the attached diagram. This is known as top attack. Being that it takes this path to the enemy target, the hellfire can take upward of 30 seconds to reach its target at longer ranges. Do not fire at enemies that are about to move to cover, and make sure to fire multiple missiles at once in order to deal maximum damage. Because the hellfire is laser guided, multiple missiles can be fired at once. They should be fired at intervals of 5-10 seconds, where between missiles the Apache can switch to a new ground target. This will allow for the quick destruction of multiple enemies. This tactic can be incredibly effective. Although the time to target for the most recently fired hellfire is available on the HUD, pilots will have to keep track of all the missiles they have fired by memory and quick calculations.

Combatting enemy anti aircraft vehicles can be a challenge. Always remain in cover and move unpredictably in combat. Use the radar warning receiver to obtain the general direction of enemy AA, and then attack with a Hellfire. An effective strategy is to fire a hellfire, break optical lock to gain cover and avoid counterfire, and then pop back up and get lock again several seconds before the Hellfire hits. This strategy if applied correctly will result in a hit, as the Hellfire is smart enough to begin following the laser designator again once the Apache re-obtains its lock.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Compressor		Flak jacket	Flares
II			Helicopter frame	IRCM	AGM-114
III	Engine	Replacing helicopter blades	NVD		AGM-114 2	New 30 mm cannons
IV			Cover	AIM-92 Stinger
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Activation of 3rd person lock by changing MFD on the pilot's view
• Very high top speed, if you stay low or high you are always the most maneuverable
• Amazing 30 mm cannon, can easily take out most tanks, and when locked can take out jets and helicopters too
• Excellent secondary armament
• Can carry up to 16 Hellfires and still carry AAMs
• 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 armored for a helicopter, can take 2-3 critical hits to take it down, may survive hits from SAM's.

Cons:

• Stinger air to air missiles don't have a reliable lock, and not enough explosive mass to do any real damage
• Hellfires rarely hit other helicopters, and are difficult to guide to air targets anyway
• Does not have as many armament options as non-premium AH-64s
• 30 mm cannon only can access default belt
• 30 mm cannon is relatively inaccurate
• AAMs cannot reliably take down armored helicopters

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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the helicopter;
• 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