U.S. soldiers look over their CH-47 Chinook before an aircraft turnover mission on Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Dec. 1, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua MurraMilitary Aims to Reduce Helicopter Vulnerability to Low-Tech Weapons -- Wall Street Journal
The downing of a U.S. military helicopter by Afghan insurgents underscores an urgent problem for the U.S. military: Finding ways to make low-flying helicopters less vulnerable to attack.
The U.S. military hasn't confirmed the exact cause of the crash of an Army Chinook helicopter on Saturday that claimed the lives of 38 coalition troops, including at least 20 members of the Navy SEALs. But Afghan officials said the aircraft was brought down by a lone militant firing a rocket-propelled grenade.
U.S. military aircraft are equipped with defenses that can fool guidance systems of sophisticated missiles, such as the Stingers left over from the campaign to force the Soviets out of Afghanistan in the 1980s. The Army has equipped some Chinooks with a high-tech jammer that uses a laser to confuse a missile. U.S. military helicopters also carry defensive systems that can launch flares to confuse heat-seeking missiles.
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My Comment: After what happened this weekend in Afghanistan .... all that I can say is faster please.