AH-60 (Israel)
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Contents
Description
Dating back to tests in the 1980s, the Israeli Air Force had been very interested in an alternative to their Bell-212 "Anafa" (Hebrew: Heron), thus beginning their long history with the UH-60 "Black Hawk". With about 50 in service as utility aircraft for logistics duties, it was a landmark in the IAF helicopter fleet. In recent years, the demand for more options to meet surface threats increased and thus the decision was made to buy armed versions of the platform. This model represents the upgraded UH-60L co-manufactured by Elbit Systems for the Colombian army with the designation AH-60L Arpía IV.
Introduced in Update "Alpha Strike", the AH-60 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 counterparts at the battle rating. The AH-60 "Yanshuf" (Hebrew: Owl) marks a viable alternative to its AH-64 competitors and a step-up in every regard to the MD-500 "Lahatut" preceding it in the tech tree.
General info
Flight performance
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
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
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | ||
|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) |
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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
| Default weapon presets | |
|---|---|
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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.
The 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 sluggishly and can fall short or fail to track a target moving at high speeds from side aspects. The laser can also get obstructed more easily by foliage. It is advisable to lock on to a target using the helicopter's 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 being able to launch 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 290 mm of penetration find themselves lacking at this BR and the subpar protection of the helicopter against small calibre firearms may discourage such a playstyle.
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 16 x 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 |
