Haven't seen /k/ talk about this yet, but it looks like Bell Textron and Ukraine signed a letter of intent that would help facilitate the purchasing and local production of the Viper and Huey helicopters. I thought that there was also talks about the two cooperating on developing a Ukrainian native helicoper as well, but I can't seem to find that if it even exists. Anyways, what does /k/ think about this?https://investor.textron.com/news-releases/news-details/2025/Bell-Textron-Announces-Letters-of-Intent-to-Explore-Significant-Cooperation-with-Ukraine/default.aspx
>>64428662But /k/ told me helicopters are useless.
>>64428666Using them like its the 90s yes
>>64428662Won't happen in the next three years at the very least.
>>64428666/k/ is not one person, Satan. Though, I'm not entirely sure what Ukraine would do with Vipers. Maybe anti drone operations. Ukraine is open and flat which makes helicopters hard to use effectively anywhere near the frontline. A Huey is useful for at least running cargo missions or troop transports in the second and back lines.
>>64428666>>64428734Air defense duties>“The figure of more than 4,000 downed drones was already mentioned by [journalist] Dmytro Komarov [in his report on Ukrainian air defense]. Seventy-five percent of them are credited to just one army aviation brigade, while the rest of the pilots joined a bit later as the aerial threat increased,” the deputy commander of the army aviation brigade said.https://english.nv.ua/russian-war/ukrainian-helicopters-shoot-down-russian-shahed-drones-lt-col-bilobriukhov-50552484.html
>>64428734ukrainian offensive was largely blunted by russian attack helicopters. they're far from being useless.
>>64428734Hueys will be super useful for nailing recon and one way attack drones like shahed and organ respectively, Vipers will be able to go for higher end stuffConsider that one of the major limiting factors of a system like AWPKS is the range when launched from on the ground, attack helos let you mount the system to a VTOL platform that in the case of the viper was literally designed around firing large numbers of that specific rocket as quickly as possible
>>64428662Hueys in Ukraine sounds like a recipe for kino>be me, brave russian drone operator fighting to bring about glorious ruski mir>cruising through Ukrainian airspace, hunting for legitimate military targets to mark for missile strikes>intel reports that multiple schools and hospitals have been sighted in the area>suddenly it ain't me starts playing through the feed>didn't the americans lose that war?>feed goes dead>blyatMeanwhile on board the chopper>if tries to manuever, its a drone>if it flies straight, its a well disciplined drone
>>64428734>Though, I'm not entirely sure what Ukraine would do with Vipers. Maybe anti drone operations. A Viper can carry 76 (4x19) APKWS or equivalent SALH mini-missiles. That's a fair amount of ordnance.
>>64428917>sensible_chuckle.gif
Nice
>>64428662Using vipers as mobile point defense systems against drones actually makes a lot of sense.
>>64428662>don't you EVER talk to me or my wife's son again>SLURRRRRRRRRP
>>64428890Total meme. The offensive was blunted by minefields. There were barely any KA-50s/52s used and when they were, they were at as much risk as the guys they were trying to attack with their atgms.
>>64428666Okay satan
Ukrainians have used helicopters as artillery barrages, they fly in low and then fwoosh.
>>64428890>>64430038Wasn't it a combination of both?IIRC minefields were used as a first line and forced ukie mechanized forces to use mine clearing equipment forming narrow passes which in turn allowed russian helos to pick these forces off.Later could have been done by drones but I don't think russian drones were fast/well organized enough back then.Anyway, I'm sceptical that either could have stopped the advance on their own.
>>64432770Most retarded piece of soviet military tactics
I honestly have no idea why people take the mediocre performance of a bunch of Russian attack helos with line rider munitions as evidence that everyone else's are obsolete. Yeah, no shit if you have to sit still with a direct line of sight to the target to guide the thing you're vulnerable, that's like half the reason Hellfire and and the Longbow radar were created.
>>64428662I didn't even know Hueys were still being manufactured, bigly based
>>64432800This reminds me of a video The Chieftain made a while ago. The idea being that Apaches main job will be to fuck around in the rear of the enemy where AD is thinned out, as they are manned and not reliant on a jamable datastream from HQ.
>>64428662Huh, I was just thinking about the Viper and Venom the other day and wondering why they didn't get exported as much as Black Hawks or ApachesPretty neat though, cool birds
I think Bolivia or one of the -guays are also getting 8 UH-1V's
>>64428662I can't imagine Ukraine is developing a heli when they've struggled quite badly in this war beyond pop up stand off attacks and they're already stretched quite thin
>>64433380Fr, where exactly do they think they can spin up a whole helo production plant that wouldn’t get immediately oreshnigged?
>>64433691>>64433380In another country. A significant part of Ukraine's production is in other EU nations, specifically NATO ones, because lil' monke won't dare to do shit against them.>>64432959>Brigadier General or whatever rank he is US military officer knows more about military strategy than pajeets who think Russia is a good demonstrator of how to use helicoptersColor me surprised
>>64428662Why not Black Hawks and Apaches?
>>64436746>Why does Bell not produce Boeing and Sikorsky aircraft?
>>64432774Nope, regular artillery did the heavy lifting on that part.
>>64428666did /k/ fuck your mother too?
>>64437529I can't say about the rest of you guys, but I did.
>>64428662I'm thinking it's based.
>>64438721Wipe Arctic Cat’s good name off of your meme, fucker.
>>64438811Fag. You'll regret it when climate change really hits and golf carts reclaim their rightful place as the superior mode of overland travel.
>>64428662Slavs aren’t people and shouldn’t be allowed any military tech more dangerous than Bronze Age weapons.
>>64436746More expensive, Bell helicopters aren't bargain bin but they scale up much better.>>64428662God i wanna see Cobras and Hueys in green paint again. I'd do anything to see what Ukr camo looks like on them.
>>64428666you lie satan
>>64438959Arctic Cat is now owned by Argo. The perfect vehicle for the coming hot wet swampification of everything east of the Black Hills. Also the Arctic Cat SxS were (and are) WAY better than the Bad Boys/EzGo garbage that flooded Cat dealers with after the Textron buyout. Textron bought Arctic Cat thinking that there was going to be a wider market for militarized SxSs and wanting to compete with Polaris, but Polaris had a 15 year head start and Afghanistan was winding down, so no big contracts went up for bid, and Textron let Arctic Cat SxSs molder because fuck being invested in the success of your subsidiaries, am I right?
>>64436746Price, parts compatibility, the need for local production, the desire for technology transfers, and the most likely one would be the willingness of Bell-Textron to codevelop Ukrainian-native attack and utility rotary platforms.
