The last decade's rapid proliferation of countries acquiring dedicated attack helicopter systems marks a continued growth area for the defence industry, both through the sale of new aircraft and the modernisation and support of inventory systems. Once perceived merely as a tank-busting asset with the strike potential to turn the outcome of a single battle, the attack helicopter has been reinvented at the heart of the integrated equipment package now required to win a war. As witnessed during the 1990-91 Gulf War, when it was used to full effect and in concert with other targeting and assault assets, the attack helicopter's ability to rapidly deliver devastating firepower can remove both an enemy's means and will to fight. Advances in the self-protection equipment needed to shield helicopters from traditional threats, such as mobile or man-portable surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, will also enable the aircraft to conduct new roles. The introduction of millimetric-wave (MMW) radars and advanced targeting systems also offers helicopter operators the potential to evade or even engage threats such as SAM installations by detecting and pinpointing their radar emissions. The US Army, among other operators, is now looking at the potential to cut the sensor-to-shooter time required to attack such enemy assets by enabling the attack helicopter to engage and destroy them itself. The integration of an MMW seeker with current weapons such as the AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missile could provide a low-risk solution to meet such an emerging requirement, along with the potential carriage of dedicated anti-radiation missiles.
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