ATTACK on AMERICA

Military

ATTACK
on AMERICA

Helicopter warfare: Why it can be a dangerous mission
The mission to find Osama bin Laden will involve closer contact with enemy forces than previous high-altitude flyovers. To accomplish this, helicopter pilots will have to evade small, lightweight shoulder-fired weapons such as Stinger missiles. Stingers proved deadly to many Russian helicopters in their war in Afghanistan from 1980 to 1989.

Evading a stinger

The enemy detects a U.S. helicopter, aims and fires a Stinger missile.	The helicopter fires chaff and flares to confuse the missile, aggressively turning to avoid the missile.

Two helicopters can be a deadly combination. The mountainous terrain of Afghanistan will allow one to remain hidden while it locates and "paints" a target with a laser, while the other fires a weapon that will hit that target.
Graphic: Chris Morris / DMN