AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter
Close air support covereth a multitude of sins.
Though its been through some updates since the jungles of Vietnam, the AH-1 Cobra is the front line attack helicopter of the United States. The Cobra is an excellent tank hunter, using its narrow cross section to avoid incoming fire and unleashing hell from its side mounted TOW tubes. Its also no slouch at taking down infantry with its M197 20mm Vulcan Gatling cannon, and M159 rocket pods.
In Team Yankee
The AH-1 Cobra is a very good Anti Tank Helicopter.
With its Improved TOW missile, the Cobra can detonate vehicles four feet away, and since its guided and HEAT like all AT missiles, you ignore the penalties for shooting at long range. Meaning you can hover well out of the range of non-missile AA and pop the turrets off of Soviet armor. The only downsides are that BDD armor messes with your rolls and you cant shoot if you move.
An Added bonus is the "Hunter Killer" special rule, which is Unique to NATO choppers. This rule means that the Cobra can use terrain as concealment and unless it has fired, it counts as gone to ground so your only being hit on a roll of 6+.
For dealing with infantry (and helicopters), the Cobra carries the M197 20mm Gatling Gun. Its kinda short range is made up by the fact that it has a ROF of 6 if you hover, great for mopping up the infantry that just bailed out of the transport you just missiled. For more spread out infantry, once a game, you can drop the massive Salvo template in the form of the M159 Rocket Launcher.
US armies can taket two AH-1 Cobras for 7 points, and a double squadron for 14.
IRL
The AH-1 Cobra was first deployed by the US Military in 1968 and saw use in the Vietnam War.
The Cobra was developed in response to a US Army demand for a "Helicopter Gunship" to support its UH-1 Hueys, as it was becoming apparent that the Huey was vulnerable to ground fire and if fully loaded with troops was incapable of suppressing enemy positions near a landing zone. The AH-1 utilized the same engine and rotor as the venerable UH-1 as well as several avionics systems.
The Cobra is still in use today in many countries around the world, and the US Marine Corps uses a twin engine version as its primary attack helicopter. However it can't keep up with the V-22 Osprey. Which itself has no weapons and the Army will most likely get an armed tilt rotor before they do.
Just as the T-72 wasn't the most modern tank used by the Soviets. The Huey based helicopters were not the most advanced aircraft that the US military had in 1985. The Black Hawk was adopted in 1979. While the Ah-64 Apache went into service a year later. A future update to Team Yankee might include these missing vehicles.
| US Forces in Team Yankee | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | M1 Abrams - M60 Patton - M551 Sheridan - RDF/LT |
| Transports: | M113 Armored Personnel Carrier - UH-1 Huey - AAVP7 - Bradley Fighting Vehicle - Pickup Trucks |
| Troops: | US Mech Platoon - Marine Rifle Platoon - Huey Rifle Platoon - HMMWV Machine Gun Platoon - Light Motor Infantry Platoon - Irregular Militia Group |
| Artillery: | M106 Heavy Mortar Carrier - M109 Howitzer - LAV-M - M270 MLRS |
| Anti-Aircraft: | M163 VADS - M48 Chaparral - M247 Sergeant York - HMMWV SAM |
| Tank Hunters: | M901 ITV - HMMWV-TOW - LAV-AT |
| Recon: | M113 FIST- M113 Scout Section - HMMWV Scout Section - LAV-25 - Bradley Fighting Vehicle |
| Aircraft: | A-10 Warthog - AV-8 Harrier - AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter - AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter |