Technology

In Wake of SEAL Tragedy, We Ask: Are Chopper Shootdowns Preventable?

As the U.S. mourns the tragic loss of 38 servicemen, including 22 Navy SEALs, due to a CH-47 Chinook being shot down, questions abound about how, if possible, the tragic loss could have been averted, and whether there are ways to better protect U.S. helicopters and the troops they carry from now on.

Are Helicopter Shootdowns Preventable?

CH-47 Chinook

Air travel in a combat zone is inherently dangerous, but there are precedents for aerial campaigns with near zero losses. The U.S. enforced a no-fly zone over Iraq for a decade with near-impunity, despite the presence of SAM (Surface to Air Missile) sites and other anti-aircraft weaponry in Saddam’s Iraq. And even the Soviets were able to use their MI-24 Hind helicopter gunships to great effect in Afghanistan until the U.S. changed the game with Stinger missiles.

But can we prevent nearly all helicopter shootdowns? Probably not. Helicopters will always be vulnerable because their core mission puts them in close, constant contact with the ground. They don’t fly exclusively to and from secure aerial bases and stay at high altitudes like jets. In fact, enough rounds of small arms fire can bring down a multi-million dollar helicopter gunship, which is much more nimble than a huge, lumbering Chinook transport.

But could technology soon make catastrophic shootdowns less likely? That seems plausible given a little ingenuity and a sense of urgency in the military bureaucracy.

Wired magazine has come up with a creative approach. In an article on Tuesday, Wired asserted that if two existing Army systems were integrated into chopper defense, the combination could theoretically provide improved protection for all military helicopters- including the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

Specifically, Wired suggests the military combine an “acoustic gunshot detector with a dazzling laser that will startle shooters who take aim at American helos.”

The first technology- acoustic gunshot detection- is already in use by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan for land based vehicles. Essentially, it uses a form of sonar to determine when rounds are incoming, and the direction of their origin.

Are Helicopter Shootdowns Preventable?

Black Hawk

A few army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters have deployed in Afghanistan with prototypes of the acoustic detection system called HALTT (Helicopter Alert and Threat Termination) already. And as for the Chinook, Wired reports that:

“Back at home, Chinook helicopters  — like the kind that went down over Wardak province this weekend — are undergoing tests of the HALTT system. In one June 2010 trial HALTT detected 95 percent of the 2,400 shots fired at it (although it had troubles finding the direction of those shots when the helo was hovering).”

The second countermeasure approach- lasers – is also in current military usage, though there are two components to lasers in this context. Lasers can be infrared beams that disrupt targeting mechanisms. But that would not be useful against small arms fire since they rely on the human eye. That‘s where a ’dazzler’ laser comes in.

A dazzler generally refers to a directed light beam intended to temporarily blind an opponent (think of someone in a dark room shining a light in your eyes). You can‘t shoot what you can’t see, so this would be effective against any weapon that relies on human line of sight

What Wired has offered up, then, is a kind of combination acoustic-detector and light-emitter defense package for helicopters. A pilot could maneuver more effectively when the first shot is fired, and respond with blinding targeted laser countermeasures in that direction (or the nearest door-mounted M-240).

This video from defense company ITT gives a pretty good overview of its helicopter defense technologies:

ITT is one of four companies that will be competing for an army helicopter protection contract that will soon be announced, according to Wired’s Noah Schactman. The current schedule would have the winner producing prototypes sometime around 2017.

Hopefully our men and women in uniform will be home much sooner than that, but the U.S. military needs to employ every available method to help protect our helicopter pilots and the troops they transport until that day comes.

And this could be the answer.

(h/t wired)

Comments (121)

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  • Big Book Harry
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:07pm

    In Wake of SEAL Tragedy, We Ask: Are Chopper Shootdowns Preventable?

    Sure don’t fly them.

    Report Post »  
    • PATTY HENRY
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 8:50pm

      OH, THAT’S CUTE….. you sit here able to post garbage in freedom, thanks to the fact that we do FLY THEM. THROW UP.

      Report Post » PATTY HENRY  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:48pm

      No afghan or iraqi ever threatened our freedom-neither has anyone else for that matter. brainwashed propaganda.

      Report Post »  
    • Pat_Fulton
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 12:43am

      Where is our INFRARED technology to detect the enemy close enough to fire an RPG!…from the Chinook, support aircraft, or satellite!!…

      Report Post » Pat_Fulton  
    • smithclar3nc3
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 7:58am

      Yes Chopper shootdowns are preventable …You get them the he77 of the quagmire knowns as the middle east and let the knuts handle their own business. Any acts of terrorism against the U.S. can be answered by bombing the **** out of the home nation of the terrorist then returning home. No boots on the ground just an eye for an eye. For every bomb a terrorist set off aganist the U.S. we drop a hundred on their native country. If they are home grown terrorist we execute their entire family.
      You want it to stop there‘s only one way and it’s nopt P.C. or Constitutional

      Report Post »  
    • StonyBurk
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 9:24am

      I heard some good questions asked relative to this– #1 why did the Navy pack 20 SEALS in one bird?
      #2 Who planned this mission? #3 Who authorized it? #4 Why do they still have Command. #5 Why were there No slicks flying cover? #6 Why was this bird and crew assigned the mission ? #7 (this from Michael Savage-but seems relevant) Who leaked to the Taliban? They claim they have infiltrated the
      Afghan Govt. and knew of the mission as soon as the Rangers called for the Cavalry.#8 What role if any plausible deniability considered does this Presidents ineptitude and embrace of the Muslim Brotherhood play in all this. It seems his Dover trip was just a coverup. I believe he betrayed -or had a hand in it the Navy SEALS.And our efforts in Afghanistan.

      Report Post »  
    • Sleazy Hippo
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 10:19am

      I was reviewing other Blaze posts on this topic from last weekend and came across this amazingly inappropriate and hurtful statement from August 7th:
      (We both think it [the successful Chinook attack] was a trade-off for taking out Ben [sic] Laden… “I’m going to have Ben [sic] Laden taken out, but don’t worry. At a later date I’ll hand over the men who took him out.” …I think this goes all the way to the top.)
      I just want to congratulate Governor Palin and all the loyal American patriots who have refuted and repudiated small-minded, paranoid and explosive statements like this, meant to incite lunatic fringe fear.

      Report Post » Sleazy Hippo  
    • LibertariansUnite
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 12:58pm

      You know what is funny, the first guy who posted is absolutly correct.

      We don’t have to go to war with 4 different nations you know…

      Might save us some serviceman lives…

      Oh wait, then the Muslim Boogeyman on FOX news will come get us, I forgot. I guess we do need to keep killing Muslims.

      Report Post » LibertariansUnite  
  • AliasJohn
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:59pm

    I’ve had my helicopter shot at while flying at night with no lights, think “full moon”. or bright city lights. A laser dazzler is a great idea, I‘m sure it’s being researched already. One problem with lasers is that anything bright enough to dazzle has a potential to dazzle friendlies, or even cause permanent damage. Those who question the use of CH47‘s due to slowness don’t understand the environment over there and the requirements. The CH47 has a cruise speed that is 28 miles an hour slower than an apache, but a max speed 14 miles an hour faster, (according to wikipedia).

    Report Post »  
    • eagle2715
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:13pm

      Spot on man, The -47 is a much bigger aircraft and takes longer to transition than smaller ones, but it is faster once it gets moving. The fastest non attack helo in the military is a CH-53, and it’s a monster size wise…

      Report Post » eagle2715  
    • Theleftisda
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:53pm

      CH47 has a top speed of 170 knots

      Report Post » Theleftisda  
    • Theleftisda
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 8:04pm

      Apache top speed 192 mph

      Report Post » Theleftisda  
    • Fear The Voices
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:53pm

      Isn’t there a way to provide cover in a situation like this with some other form of aircraft like the A10 that is lethal, durable, maneuverable, and also may have some form of night vision capability to clear an area in advance of a helos landing?

      Report Post » Fear The Voices  
    • molleighsgm
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 1:38pm

      John God Bless you. You are definitely as another poster put it spot on. My father was a lifetimer in the Air Force and he flew C-130s and H63 helicopters. I believe they are called Baby Hueys. Hardest part is taking off and landing since they are slowed down. I mourn the loss of everyone on that helicopter. It is a devastating loss. My heart goes out to the families as well. One other poster talked of the dazzlers and made a great point that we use it we risk blinding our soldiers in the process. I pray that they find a way to protect the helicopters. My father ran missions to Iraq I in the 90′s and he brought soldiers home along with the wounded. He helped with Operation provide comfort and was in Nam. I am very proud of my father’s service to this country. I am very proud of every soldier active or retired. I cannot thank you and your families enough. Being a military wife you have to be strong and courageous for yourself,kids and your husband. God Bless our troops!!!

      Report Post » molleighsgm  
  • christos
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:56pm

    ……The supposed is the posed,without a trace…

    Report Post » christos  
  • thomasmichael
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:33pm

    My understanding is that the Special Ops community does not take any unneccessary risks. They work at night with the best equipment and the best warriors. They have the most experienced Pilots on earth. It was a “QRF” quick reaction force so maybe that is what they had to work with and it was “Lets go men the Rangers need help?

    Report Post »  
  • newschopper
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:23pm

    I was involved in a helicopter project designed to avoid and repel RPG attacks and save lives. Unfortunately we lost our funding and became another casualty of the economy.

    Report Post »  
  • Funky Money
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:22pm

    sorry for double post

    Report Post »  
  • Funky Money
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:20pm

    isnt it a bit of a big coincidence that this is the team that supposedl killed obama? i love my country, but recent events are making me a lil worried, im starting to see connections that i dont like at all….

    Report Post »  
    • loveoursoldiers
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:22pm

      wow. that was the biggest freudian slip ever!

      Report Post » loveoursoldiers  
    • mossbrain
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:25pm

      Yeah no one in government wants to say the truth, we were ratted out by either one of our own servicemen or our supposedly “allies”.

      You can not trust a Muslim, they may pretend to be our ally but in fact they are the embodiment of evil, pure disharmony given human form. They need to be sent back to where they came from, HELL.

      Islam is an ill wind on the surface of earth, it will only bring suffering, nothing else.

      Report Post » mossbrain  
    • loriann12
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:31pm

      Yea, the question they should be asking is who gave them up? My husband worked with SEAL team in Hawaii 10 years ago, and it’s rare that they put the whole team on one vessel, be it ocean going or air. And how did they know it was SEAL Team Six before doing a DNA analysis? And they let it out before notifying the family…something stinks all the way to the top, if you ask me.

      Report Post »  
    • MONICNE
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:32pm

      Of course, if you all are paranoid enough to really feel this way, then you must not be sharp enough to realize the Secret Service can investigate you under the Michele Bachmann/Allen West Patriot Act.

      TEA

      Report Post » MONICNE  
    • Mateytwo Barreett
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 6:24am

      Oh (or ugh) Saw Ma! snicker, snicker

      Report Post » Mateytwo Barreett  
    • Sleazy Hippo
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 10:22am

      We need to share in the strengthening resolve for our SEAL Teams, the SOF, the JSOC, and all military and intelligence community members, present and to come, who will be inspired to greatness by the mission-centered sacrifices made and the ultimate price paid by these brave souls.

      Their lives will not be in vain, their warrior’s spirit will live on as long as one American patriot continues to breathe free.

      Report Post » Sleazy Hippo  
    • iarefounder
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 6:01pm

      I agree. It is fishy.

      Report Post »  
  • Funky Money
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:18pm

    i just made a connection, prolly a lil slower than other people but it just came to me, this is the team that “supposedly” killed osama, isnt it a bit a big coincidence? i love my country, but this is…

    Report Post »  
    • annieoakley
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:06pm

      Yes. and this was a set up for the Seals all the way. See atlasshrugged.com or Pamela Gellar

      Report Post »  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:54pm

      There is nothing evil about being an afghan or being allied to the afghans against americans who have been invaded ,bombed, murdered and tortured by americans.. We‘ve killed millions of them and if they play a double game it’s because we invaded them.Alquada was a group, and 9-11 was a criminal act though they considered themselves freedom fighters . They were not a regime,state,government,not even a people and certainly not afghans.

      Report Post »  
  • Cesium
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:15pm

    Lets take 22 of our most lethal and treasured soldiers and put them all in a big dumpy slow chopper and fly them toward the taliban.. the decision makers on this one should be court marshaled..

    Report Post »  
    • Cesium
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:17pm

      *martialed”

      Report Post »  
    • Cesium
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:18pm

      *martialed

      Report Post »  
    • eagle2715
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:03pm

      The blackhawks don’t work very well in the higher elevatinos…CH-47‘s arn’t dumpy either…big, but fast…

      Report Post » eagle2715  
    • Tom21773
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 2:16am

      Uh, they should be executed for murder. This was obviously a setup to make sure the truth about osama’s “demise” never comes out.

      Report Post »  
  • libertymeteor
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:14pm

    Yeah, they are preventable…..we’ve got the bomb. Well that is one solution, just saying.

    …..follow and share your thoughts with us at http://www.LibertyMeteor.com
    ……….We are an up and coming blog looking for contributors! Keep up the good fight! 2012 & beyond!

    Report Post » libertymeteor  
  • a4good
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:01pm

    I am very suspecious about this tragety! Team 6 members were among the dead. My intuition tells me that someone wanted to eliminate them so they can never divulge who they really killed at the raid of Bin Ladin compound. I do believe Bin Ladin was dead long time ago. The one that was killed had to be one of his sons that have taken over of the leadership. This was an inside job with help of the terrorists. Also, how dare the news to divulge their pictures and names. No regard for their families and placing them in jeopardy. Who, in the government released their pictures? I smell skunk!!!

    Report Post »  
    • Navyveteran
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:17pm

      I posted this as well in one of the stories when it first hit the blaze. This chinook carried over 30 special forces members. And the SEaL Team 6 was in this helo. No I don’t buy this story at all, I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman in JFK’s assasination more than I believe any story this administration puts out.

      Report Post »  
    • loveoursoldiers
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:21pm

      Fox was reporting that none of the team in the Bin Laden raid was there.. but other members of six were on there.
      Because of all the lies from of this admin.. I believe nothing they say. Maybe they thought Bin Laden’s capture would assure a second term.. who knows? What else are the Chicago thugs planning so they can keep their jobs after 2012? For a lot of appointees and assistants and rappers and hollywood stars and czars.. the Messiah must have a second term so they can keep sucking the money out of the pockets of hard worling Americansthis and so the parties can continue.

      Report Post » loveoursoldiers  
    • fatjack
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 8:23pm

      a4good

      Bingo

      Report Post » fatjack  
    • Mateytwo Barreett
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 6:21am

      Ruh-Roh! Another conspiracy theorist!
      Is that Cod or Herring I smell?

      Report Post » Mateytwo Barreett  
  • jimay
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:59pm

    The ghost of Robert Strange McNamara lives. No matter what happens, a defense contractor is out there with another brilliant, expensive, technology driven solution that enables you to use your favorite assets despite the ridiculously lopsided cost of doing so.

    Report Post »  
    • paulusmaximus
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:25pm

      And the other side will find a 50cent way to over ride it.

      Report Post » paulusmaximus  
    • sbleve
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 9:48am

      The ghost of past! President Eisonhower warned of the comming of special interest ‘Industrial Military Complex’ faoritizm, at his farewell/good bye speech. The Lobbiest do not make laws. What most Americans failed then and now to realize is that these “industrial military” contractors are nothing more than the pro-football team. All teams, of championship quality, have an owner that does not play the game but decides who plays first string. This owner, in our govenments case, are Representatives, Senators, and some Executive branch individual elected people. Ear marks and favortism/you vote for mine and I will vote for yours (compromise) is how the game is played. Compromised pay-offs (mastermined to abusive levels by FDR). The Democrats perfected the skills at this game during WW2= cost+10%. The nasty big government Republicans learned, at a slow rate-deficient mental skills, but non the less learned to play the game very well. Look at Senator Fienstein’s committee position/2006 and her husbands stock ownership. Or the influence of the F-22 and House Majority leader J. Boehner.

      To fix this problem of coruption by elected officals is monumental in the easiest form. More in the nature of like paying off the $14.4+ debt. Both will take courage by the citizens to re-hab their-our addiction to ‘free gifts from the king’. One more reason that the Constitution allowed States to do-manipulate some dead horse scheem and not the Federalist Government.

      Report Post » sbleve  
  • GOTT-EM-MAUSER
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:59pm

    As usual we tend to run at full tilt towards some NEW TECHNOLOGY hoping it will provide the MAGIC BULLET to solve some NEW PROBLEM. And as usual the proponenets are the ones who just happen to Make/Sell whatever the new Gadget is.

    The Acoustic backtracking came along many years ago as the supposed answer to Snipers shooting from concealment at long ranges (It was pushed hard as a Short Range Assination ender, don’t ya know) BUT, it has never worked worth a hoot. These systems are easily defeated by false signals and Snipers/Shooters working/moving in concert to “Confuse” the machines. If the weapons deployed against the Helos can be supressed, and almost anything can be, the whole system becomes irrelevant. As far as the MAGIC Lasers go, all the bad guys need do is put on a set of “Laser Filtered Lenses” basically nor more than a sexy set of Mirror Lense Sunglasses and the Laser is rendered Impotent. The now ubiqitous Surveillence Cameras, that we all know and love, can easily be setup to LOOK through the sighting element, and the gun/rocket fired remotely with very simple electronics and actuators.

    So let‘s blow another couple billion dollars that we don’t have, to build another easily/cheaply defeated, NEW AGE WEAPONS SYSTEM, that won’t solve the problem anyway.

    Report Post »  
  • randy
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:57pm

    As the U.S. mourns the tragic loss of 38 servicemen, including 22 Navy SEALs, due to a CH-47 Chinook being shot down, questions abound about how, if possible, the tragic loss could have been averted, ?

    DUH!!!

    Carpet bomb the whole damn place or a nuke will prevent the loss of more American lives!

    Report Post » randy  
    • Cesium
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:19pm

      why would they put them all in a dumb blimp of a helicopter and send then to the taliban?

      Report Post »  
    • eagle2715
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:25pm

      Cesium, this ‘blimp’ of a helo is one of two birds in the US military that can operate effectivily at high altitudes. Anything else dosn’t have the power to fly up, down, and around these shear mountains at high altitutdes. The CH-47 and it’s variants are the work horse of the region. Wana know what happens when you dont’ use one? They crash, just like the modifed 60 that went down in Osama compound. Engine failure due to high alitutde and thin air in the transition…

      So the choice is a helo that can get you shot at a bit more frequently, or a helo that might lawn dart you into the side of a mountain…

      Report Post » eagle2715  
    • Theleftisda
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 8:23pm

      @eagle
      really?
      altitude of 1,940

      Report Post » Theleftisda  
    • eagle2715
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 10:45pm

      exactly what is 1,940?

      Report Post » eagle2715  
    • jsguero
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 10:35am

      Eagle2715, I think Theleftisda is just trying to relay altitude in meters vice feet, otherwise he’d look kinda silly.

      Ooh-rah!

      Report Post »  
  • abnormaltoy
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:57pm

    Obama lied…soldiers died!

    Report Post »  
    • jsguero
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 10:16am

      Hey eagle2715, I think Theleftisda is just using metric instead of english standard for altitude. Otherwise he’d be looking pretty silly. . .

      Report Post »  
  • Volfie
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:56pm

    I think that the speculation that combining the acoustic detection system with a dazzler-style laser deterrent is not recognizing the limitations of the technologies. The acoustic detection system works by comparing the acoustic signature of the muzzle sound with the acoustic signature of the supersonic round concussion wave.

    First problem is that helicopters are rarely significantly damaged by supersonic bullets. Instead, helicopters face the greatest threat from RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) or anti-aircraft missiles. The firing vector of those munitions cannot be determined by the acoustic detection system.

    It may be nice to know where a shooter is relative to the helicopter (one shooting supersonic rounds), but the occasion where someone is shooting a supersonic round from an unknown location who is a significant threat is very, very rare.

    The second problem is the dazzler system would need to have precise telemetry to the shooter (the acoustic detection is not yet that refined) AND be able to continue to track that point on the ground as the helicopter moves. That involves many significant calculations. The location technology is just not precise enough to put a dazzler on the shooter’s location and keep it there sufficiently long to be effective.

    I very much support researching and implementing technologies to help make our troops safer, but the specified combination is just not viable with current limitations.

    Report Post »  
  • wtd
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:52pm

    So long as our military vets and ‘trusts’ muslims, as they did this weekend with the muslim passengers on that helo w/seals, our troops remain in mortal danger . What are the odds – one of the ‘trusted’ and ‘vetted’ muslim passengers on that helo didn’t butt bomb the craft?

    Report Post »  
    • SavingtheRepublic.com
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:01pm

      ~~^^~~^^~~
      Ya know you have a point b/c of the altitude it was “hit” from. I heard one report say it was a million dollar shot with an RPG to a fuel tank! Uh huh Im thinking soviet or chinese built copy of a stinger missile or sabotage. Arent the Alex Jones people calling it another inside job?!

      Heres a better idea UBL is DEAD, Saddam is DEAD bring them all home and on the way out carpet bomb the entire area with good old B-52′s! http://SavingtheRepublic.com

      Report Post » SavingtheRepublic.com  
  • They SMEAR what they FEAR
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:52pm

    This is war! Bullets Fly – People Die.

    Its always trragic when so many die at once but its war.

    Report Post » They SMEAR what they FEAR  
  • Ron_WA
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:43pm

    There are a variety of countermeasures which can be employed to make helos more survivable but ultimately it only takes one lucky shot. Still, there are a lot of things which can be done.

    I am dismayed that this unfolded the way it did.

    These guys should HAVE NEVER been part of a QRF. Other Rangers should have been part of a pre-planned QRF which went in on MH-47 (special ops variant) not a conventional CH-47.

    Also, as part of the mission planning the S2 (intel officer) in conjunction w/ the air defense officer should have identified likely locations for an air ambush & a SEAD (suppression of enemy air defense) plan should have been developed & ready to use prior to launching any QRF.

    Everything that could have been done wrong & gone wrong seem to have happened on this mission!

    I hope they take a good hard look at this incident; do a thorough AAR (after action review); make systemic changes; hold people accountable & take appropriate action for any negligence if necessary.

    Report Post » Ron_WA  
    • eagle2715
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:07pm

      Been asking myself the saem thing. They said it wasn’t a 160th chopper wich blows my mind. I cant immagine who signed off on lettign that many spec-ops on one 47 that wasn’t part of the SOAR, even if it was an NVIS bird….

      Only thing I can think of is this was a standby aircraft and the main went down and wasn’t available for some maintenance reason…

      Report Post » eagle2715  
    • xoke
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 12:20am

      @Eagle

      “Only thing I can think of is this was a standby aircraft and the main went down and wasn’t available for some maintenance reason…”

      I agree, we used to separate gun teams onto different sticks, and I was just regular 10th Mtn. Infantry…there must have been some kind of snafu to get that many SEALs on one bird.

      Report Post » xoke  
  • justquitsmoking
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:41pm

    We Ask: Are Chopper Shootdowns Preventable?

    I reply: Yes, they are preventable… but with 350 million already in DoD cuts before the debt bill passed… which mandated an additional 500 million, for a total of 850 million id DoD cuts… you’re not likely to see one soon…. proper and reasonable funding….. and I promise you, the U.S. Army could build an unshootable bird.

    Report Post »  
    • Navyveteran
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 6:06pm

      easy solution and it won’t cost any money, fly at night. If the helo can‘t be seen you can’t sight it with the rpg. Unless the enemy has night vision then flying at night with armed escorts like apache’s or blackhawks, perferably blackhawks since they are designed to fight at night.Blackhawks are also equiped with heat detectors so if mr taliban sticks his head out they will pop up on the heat detectgors. Oh and keep the obama administrattion no where near phones, cell phones, or computers to talk to the enemy and tell the terrorist where the helos will be.

      .

      Report Post »  
    • eagle2715
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:08pm

      Reports are saying Iran is giving some NVIS stuff to these bastards. Plus it‘s not impossible to see helo’s at night if there is enough ambiant light. Especially if you get them bottle necked like what some people are saying they did to this aircraft.

      Report Post » eagle2715  
    • Navyveteran
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 7:24pm

      HELLfireforHAJ
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 7:10pm
      NAVYVET…. Dude if u dont know what you are talking about dont post random stuff that u have no idea about. First your aircraft abilities are completely wrong unless its a DAP blackhawk and these guys fly only at nite, thus the name “night stalkers” and yes it was shot down at night. And there is no conspiracy as every flight has a manifest with who exactly is on it. Main point, let those who fight wars, let them fight it to the fullest extent.

      First of all there is no reason to be spiteful and act all elitist like progressives. I know more than I am willing to let on and there are reasons for that. The DAP Blackhawk is still a Blackhawk as I mentioned that flies at night. The Blackhawk can be used as close air support and escort missions, or do you want to argue that point as well.? You accuse me of not knowing what I am talking about, but you reinforce what I was saying. I just choose not using specifics like you have, why to make yourself appear smarter than me? Fine I will take the high road and say that you’re smarter than me. Us patriots have more important things to fight about and with each other is not one of them. Secondly no where in this article states that this mission was flown at night, and since I am commenting on this article I am going on the info I was given.

      Report Post »  
  • TerryJ70
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:41pm

    The skeptic inside me suggests that we look into what happened here. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were set up by someone. My guess is Iran. I may be wrong, but we seem to not be in an aggressive position with this new administration.

    Report Post »  
  • loveoursoldiers
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:41pm

    Whatever it takes to keep these brave men and women safe is what should be a priority.

    Can I just say that I am disgusted that this anti-military president chose to be there when the dead bodies of our heroes came home. Nothing but an election photo-op.. He has to get his face in the news of the day.. no matter what.
    Mr. Obama.. we know who you are and who you are not.

    Report Post » loveoursoldiers  
    • kralspaces
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:55pm

      Whatever it takes is to bring our troops home. Problem solved.

      Report Post » kralspaces  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:39pm

    Set ups are tough to overcome, and I truly believe these men were set up and not by the Taliban.

    Report Post »  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:37pm

    .
    The answer is yes. But you have to kill all the bad guy’s first…….

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:33pm

    Based on what they are saying in the article; yes the systems can help IMPROVE the survivability of the helicoptors. The only absolute way to ensure no helicoptors are ever shot down by hostile action is not to use them — and with the fact we have troops in harms way, and they need the support, that is not a viable option.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • MONICNE
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:42pm

      I stand with the SnowLeopard, who succinctly sums up the risk statement that all our military heroes embrace,

      This article’s headline is in very poor taste, and poses a baseless point. Shame!

      TEA

      Report Post » MONICNE  
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