AH-60 (Israel)

AH-60

AH-60

Israel

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.7	12.0	10.7

Class:

Attack helicopter

Research:400 000

Purchase:1 020 000

Show in game

Description

The AH-60 Battle Hawk is a rank VII Israeli attack helicopter with a battle rating of 10.7 (AB/SB) and 12.0 (RB). It was introduced in Update "Alpha Strike". It marks a new helicopter chassis available to the Israeli tech tree in form of the iconic Sikorsky "Black Hawk". With this new platform, new options open up for anyone choosing to tread down this part of the tech tree. Access to up to 16 of the Spike F&F ATGM in conjunction with the AGM-114K Hellfire 2 in mixed loadouts is the main appeal of this helicopter. Additionally it features a higher rate-of-fire underslung GIAT M621 cannon than its 11.3 brethren. The AH-60 "Yanshuf" (Hebrew: Owl) marks a viable alternative to it's AH-64 competitors and a step-up in every regard to the MD-500 "Lahatut" (Hebrew: Sleight of Hand) preceding it in the tech tree.

Historically the IAF has a long history with the UH-60 "Black Hawk". Dating back to tests in the 1980s the Israeli Air Force has been very interested in an alternative to their Bell-212 "Anafa" (Hebrew: Heron). With about 50 in service as utility aircraft for logistics duties it has been a landmark in the IAF helicopter fleet. In recent years the demand for more options to meet surface threats has been ushered and thus the decision was made to buy armed versions of the platform. The model in-game represents the upgraded UH-60L co-manufactured by Elbit Systems for the Colombian army with the designation AH-60L Arpía IV.

Note: You will need to research both sides of the tech tree in order to be able to research this vehicle.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 1 000 m285 km/h

Max altitude5 700 m

Engine2 х General Electric T700-GE-701C

Take-off weight12 t

In its fully spaded configuration the AH-60 features a marginally worse climb rate than the AH-64D "Saraph" of ~10m/s in a straight climb. It features a sustained top speed of ~250 m/s (0 m/s climb) in realistic settings. The sustained yaw is quite poor, but expected for a platform of this size. Pitch and roll rate are quite decent and make this helicopter feel decently mobile in conjunction with its decent climb and speed.

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at _,___ m)		Max altitude (metres)
	AB	RB
Stock	___	___	5700
Upgraded	___	___

Survivability and armour

IRCM

Protects against IR-guided missiles

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear420 km/h

The AH-60 does not feature any cockpit armour or armoured glass. The fuel tanks are quite large and placed in the rear of the vehicle. This tends to make them prone to getting hit and causing fuel fires in front and rear aspect shots. The vehicle itself features lots of empty space, which can be a blessing and a curse as its large signature makes it quite visible.

Your main survivability stems from your highly advanced defence systems such as the fully digital RWR covering all radar bands. The AH-60 comes equipped with 120 regular calibre countermeasures. Additionally it gets access to a (researchable) MAW - missile approach warning - and a laser warning receiver.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB8 584 → 15 056

RB4 053 → 7 108

SB5 088 → 8 924

Total cost of modifications306 000

453 000

Talisman cost2 800

Crew training290 000

Experts1 020 000

Aces2 800

Research Aces1 080 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

100 / 220 / 330 %

232 / 232 / 232 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 Replacing helicopter blades Research: 14 000 Cost: 21 000 370 Engine Research: 13 000 Cost: 19 000 350	Flak jacket Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 Helicopter frame Research: 14 000 Cost: 21 000 370 EFS Research: 13 000 Cost: 19 000 350 Cover Research: 49 000 Cost: 72 000 1 300	t_160_belt_pack Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 AGM-114 Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 MAW Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 320 AGM-114 2 Research: 14 000 Cost: 21 000 370 GATR Research: 14 000 Cost: 21 000 370 IRCM Research: 14 000 Cost: 21 000 370 t_160_new_gun Research: 13 000 Cost: 19 000 350 Spike ER Research: 13 000 Cost: 19 000 350 AIM-92 Stinger Research: 13 000 Cost: 19 000 350 NVD Research: 13 000 Cost: 19 000 350 Spike ER /4 Research: 49 000 Cost: 72 000 1 300

Armaments

Night vision devices

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)

Offensive armament

The AH-60 (Israel) is armed with:

• A choice between two presets:
  • 1 x 20 mm GIAT M.621 cannon (430 rpg) + 120 x countermeasures
  • 1 x 20 mm GIAT M.621 cannon + 120 x countermeasures + IRCM

Suspended armament

The AH-60 brings several options to the table. The stock loadout consists of four AGM-114K Hellfire, which come in the usual 2 modification upgrades to eventually field four quad pylons of them for a total of 16. Following that, it gets access to Spike ER in double and quad setups, which can be mixed and matched with any other weapon options.

AGM-114K Hellfire 2 is the usual weapon of choice for many American derivative systems. They loft post launch to hit the target lit up by the laser indicator from a slight angle. They feature the highest explosive mass and penetration of helicopter ATGMs. Due to the nature of following the laser indicator the missile does perform somewhat slugglish and can fall short or fail to track a target move at high speeds in side aspects. The laser can also get obstructed more easily by foliage. It is advisable to lock on to a target using the helicopters IRST to achieve more consistent target tracking.

The Spike ER NLOS missile may be a new system for many players. It is functionally similar to its ground launched counterparts. However, it features a massively improved motor burning for much longer and therefore staying agile for more time. After designating a target, an NLOS missile automatically tracks a target post launch. This comes with the advantage of launching from behind a ridge and going back into hiding. The major drawback of this is that you cannot aim for enemy weak spots like ammo stowage or crew compartment. It is very possible the Spike will decide going for tracks or fuel tank, as such launching more than one missile at a time is advisable. NLOS Missiles are also quite apt at tracking helicopters.

The GATR (Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket) may be familiar to players, who have played the American helicopter tree. It is functionally identical to the laser guided semi-armour piercing AGR-20B, available to the AH-6 and OH-58D as well as the MH-60L DAP. While it is a quite adept missile for attacking light targets like APCs, reconnaissance vehicles and SPAA, it finds itself outmatched with the majority of vehicles at this BR-range and should be traded in favour of the Spike ER.

The Aim-92A ATAS (Air-to-air Stinger) is a 13G overload missile to defend against air threats. Compared to analogues it is quite weak on the turn and can be defeated by simple manoeuvring if the target is attentive. Ideally, it is fired from a front or rear aspect or long distance side aspect, to give the missile time to manoeuvre into the enemy flight path. Trading a single weapon pylon for a pair of these can prove valuable as a defensive option in conjunction with your bottom-mounted cannon.

Lastly, the Hydra-70 M247 is the familiar unguided rocket, which helicopter players will be familiar with all the way since the Israeli reserve helicopter. Its 290mm of penetration find themselves lacking at this BR and the subpar protection of the helicopter against small calibre firearms may discourage such a playstyle.

Default weapon presets
Without load 8 x ATAS (AIM-92) missiles 76 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets 28 x GATR missiles 4 x AGM-114K Hellfire II missiles 4 x AGM-114K Hellfire II missiles + 38 x Hydra-70 M247 rockets 8 x AGM-114K Hellfire II missiles 16 x AGM-114K Hellfire II missiles 8 x Spike ER missiles 16 x Spike ER missiles

Usage in battles

The AH-60 puts an emphasis on ground attack. Whilst this holds true for most helicopters, its ways of defending against aircraft are fairly limited. Equipping a double pylon of ATAS will require trading it out for one of the quad pylons of air-to-ground weaponry. The 20mm GIAT M621 can be competent at defending against aircraft due to its higher rate of fire and velocity than the AH-64s M230.

Running a mixed loadout of Spike LR and AGM-114K Hellfire 2 is recommended, as depending on the vehicle, the Spikes make for a poor experience. They tend to not overpressure, but make for an excellent distraction to flood the radar of an SPAA with. Against tanks, they tend to hit critical modules, but usually fail to destroy the vehicle in a single launch. As such the Hellfire as a secondary armament can prove a lethal option on the "wounded" prey, which when it hits it also tends to destroy the target.

The AH-60 serves best, when emphasizing the usual helicopter playstyle of playing around defensive terrain, popping up to either scout or firing off ordnance. The decent climb rate of the platform is in support of that. This playstyle can be made more lethal by prioritising F&F weaponry to pop-up a few seconds later to get the kill with AGM-114 or staying hidden and waiting for hit confirmation. Spike LR can also be a strong anti-helicopter platform in its own right, as the quite slow, lofting missile tends to set off RWR at a much later, difficult to react, point in time.

For first-spawn missile runs, the platform serves as an option, but not a competitor to the AH-64 variants found on the other side of the helicopter tree. While it is able to load the same amount of air-to-ground ordnance, its poor frontal protection as well as its smaller calibre cannon make it an inferior choice. Additionally, its mobility is not quite as good as the other platform.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Up to 16x Spike ER ATGMs
• Mixed loadouts between Spike, Hellfires and complimentary weapons
• Excellent optics with modern third generation thermals and 63.5x magnification
• M621 bottom-mounted cannon, unusual for utility helicopter chassis

Cons:

• Both Spikes and Hellfires can be inconsistent at tracking/damaging targets
• No wingtip mounts for ATAS
• Massive silhouette
• No armour protecting the crew
• limited trajectory on the bottom-mounted turret compared to designated attack 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

• MH-60L DAP US helicopter tree analogue

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Utility	H-34
Attack	MH-60L DAP
Export	▄H-34 · AH-60

Israel helicopters
Attack
MD 500	Lahatut
Battle Hawk	AH-60
Cobra	Tzefa D/E · Tzefa A · Tzefa B
Apache	Saraph · Peten · AH-64A Peten