Can a helicopter take down a fighter jet?

‘A well equipped attack helicopter flown by a trained crew will defeat most fighter airplanes in 1v1 air combat, should the fighter be foolish enough to drop down to try and engage,’ Nick Lappos, Technical Fellow Emeritus at Sikorsky and former U.S. Army AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter pilot, said on Quora.

Are helicopters too vulnerable?

Helicopters are notorious for being vulnerable to damage from sand and debris, easy to shoot down, irritatingly difficult to fix and maintain and hard to fly when visibility is poor. They are slow, cumbersome and have only modest capacity and range.

Has an attack helicopter shot down a jet?

A helicopter shooting down a fighter aircraft, happen only during the 1980–1988 Iran/Iraq war. The Bell AH-1J Super cobra Helicopter, working with the Islamic Republic of Iran armed forces, was the most successful helicopter in the War, (like the other weapons on Iranian disposal at that time.

Are helicopters easy to shoot down?

If you have the correct weapon system the helicopter is very easy to shoot down. If you are using small arms you don’t really have a realistic chance, but with more advanced methods the game becomes more complex. Even so, a helicopter compared to many other types of aircraft is much easier to shoot down.

How are helicopters used in combat?

The most common use of military helicopters is transport of troops, but transport helicopters can be modified or converted to perform other missions such as combat search and rescue (CSAR), medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), airborne command post, or even armed with weapons for attacking ground targets.

When did the US military use helicopters?

After a few modifications, the helicopter became the YR-4B and on April 25th, 1944 it became the first helicopter to ever fly in combat.

Which is safer helicopter or plane?

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), helicopters crash at a higher rate than airplanes. The crash rate for general aircraft is 7.28 crashes per 100,000 hours of flight time. That means helicopters have a 35 percent higher risk of crashing compared to airplanes.

Which is faster helicopter or plane?

Helicopters are undeniably slow compared to aeroplanes. There is no pure helicopter that flies faster than 400km/h (250mph), yet aeroplanes have been going much faster for a long time, and even some trains and cars can go faster.

How hard is it to engage a helicopter?

‘A helicopter immersed in ground clutter is very hard to detect by almost any means, and so is hard to engage. Meanwhile, the helicopter can be equipped with air to air missiles and large caliber guns that easily engage fighters as they maneuver at low altitudes against a blue sky in their attempts to engage the helicopter.

Can a fighter be vulnerable to a helicopter?

‘It must be said that the fighter is only vulnerable if it drops down from its normal altitude to engage the helicopter. If the fighter stays high and prosecutes its normal mission, it is nearly invulnerable to the helicopter’s weapons.

What are the dangers of helicopter air ambulance flights?

Because helicopters fly at lower altitudes where fog is a significant safety hazard, pilots must be extremely cautious to avoid flying into fog-prone conditions. Any time the temperature and dew point are within 4 degrees of each other, extra caution is utilized. Snow is another threat to helicopter air ambulance flights.

Do helicopters fly in foggy weather?

Because helicopters fly at lower altitudes where fog is a significant safety hazard, pilots must be extremely cautious to avoid flying into fog-prone conditions. Any time the temperature and dew point are within 4 degrees of each other, extra caution is utilized.