European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 10, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse The Cheyenne has been called the most versatile and potent Aerial weapons systems the army has Ever Opper with the Wallop of a Tan helicopters Are giving army commanders the Battlefield mobility they have always needed and now the army is looking Forward to the Day not too far off when it will have what amounts to flying tanks for airmobile firepower to Complete the picture. Some army aviators will soon Bof lying the heavily armed Cheyenne the first Rotor Craft Ever designed from the ground up As an integrated weapons system with a giant Wallop. The Lockheed developed Cheyenne haste Rotor Blade of a helicopter the fixed Wing of a conventional air plane a Pushe propeller on its Tail and beneath its aluminium skin the electronic hear of an advanced Aerial fire support system to Back up the ground Soldier. The Tough Swift helicopter with win Sis designed to ride Shotgun for troop carrying helicopters in airmobile operations and to Lay Down suppressive fire in the Landing will take off and land vertically like a helicopter but Fly Forward with the Speed twice that of present helicopters ease and Maneule ability of a fixed Wing plane combining the Best features of both Short the Cheyenne is the most advanced combat helicopter Ever conceived for close in fire support and helicopter escort and represents technological breakthrough. I Elk hey Kink is named alter the hard hitting warriors of the Plains who were among the last american indians to be subdued by the army. Light now there Are Only 10 of these winged helicopters in existence and they Are being flight tested by Lockheed aircraft pilots. In a lev month army pilots will Fly them. In the next Lew years however the army expects to i ave a Fleet ofi75 and it a. Go existing Guin Steps such As he Ull la and the a11-1g. Winch Cost$250,000 and �4 50, 000, respectively the Cost of the Cheyenne will run High Machone will Cost about $1 million but the Rolo Cratt s High performance More than makes up for its Price. 10 by Marc Huet is Washington Bureau procurement of the first of the flying tanks started Early this year with a $21.4 million contract to handle the pre production planning and engineering and procurement of Long Lead time material. Like the Tough Indian warriors of thelast Century today s Cheyenne packs a real punch. And it should since it was designed to be a flying Arsenal. Us swivelling belly Turret will hold a30mm automatic gun that can destroy lightly armoured or protected targets an the flexible nose Turret will hold either a 40mm grenade launcher or a six-barrel7.02mm min gun capable of chopping up a target with some 6,000 rounds minute. Six Wing pylons each with a one ton development will provide for fire control As Well As for navigation and communication and when developed will also assist ground forces to Zero in on enemy positions with extremely accurate fire by establishing Range a Smuth and ele vation of enemy positions. Flying the Cheyenne in combat will have a Buck Rogers flavor some pilots say. Wearing a special helmet linked via infrared Light beams to a fire control system the Pilot will merely have to look at a target and weapons will follow his gaze turning at the same time aimed and ready to fire. The Pilot will also be Able to lock the swivelling gun Ner s station to his helmet sight to designate targets automatically pointing the Here is a comparison of the Cheyenne s performance with hat of the army two present Day gunships Huiey 2-110 200 11,000 cruise Speed in knot combat Range in nautical Miles service ceiling in fee weight of ordnance Load in pounds Liliu Leobra Cheyenne 210 7go 2 i,000 390 12,000 2,500 8,000 capacity can carry 2.75-Inch rockets or tube launched and optically tracked wire guided Tow missiles or a Combina Tion of both or other weapons. The Rotor Craft s unusual rigid Rotor system gives tin Cheyenne an extremely stable gun platform. Although Cheyenne was de signed for atop Speed of 2." 0 Mph one experimental Model holds he world s record for Rotor Craft with a top Speed of 302 Mph. The c1ikyunnk has a two Man Crew Pilot and cd Pilot gunner who Are protected from ground fire by armo plate. In action lie gunner aided by a computer and other instruments sits Ina Lull Circle swivelling Seal that enables him to search and rack targets an quickly fire at hem without requiring the Pilot to change course. A computer Central system now under gunner and weapons toward the targets. The Cheyenne has Many other remark Able capabilities. It can go from Zero Speed to 230 Mph in level flight in 38seconds and literally Stop in the air from that Speed in less than half that time. Like any other helicopter it can Flat tree top level to avoid visual and radar detection and hit a service ceiling of 2li,000 feet about five Miles up. I Lover Selling is 10,600 feet and using its High magnification sighting system the Chey Enne will be Able to scan the Battle area Well out of Range of enemy Small arms fire. The Cheyenne s maximum Range is875 statute Miles with a top endurance of 5 a hours. With an ammunition Load of four tons it will Fly More than three hours. On a ferry Mission it has a 2,900-Milerange enough to Cross the 11011 Stop or Fly the Pacific Wilh refuelling stops at Hawaii Wake Island and Guam it also can be transported aboard a cargo air plane. The 55-foot-Long Rotor Craft is powered by a 3,400-Shaft horsepower Gas Turbine engine developed by general electric. Although he first Cheyenne was rolled out Only last year he army has been studying he needs and design for just such a Craft Ever since lie Early Filgos. Four years ago Karle Wheeler then army chief of staff and now chair Man of the joint chiefs of staff told a congressional subcommittee we Are going for the big jump. We want a True weapons helicopter one that is built for the purpose and is not merely a con version from some other Type of Heli on. Austin w. Belts army chief of research and development said after the first 10 cheyennes were made the am-56a Cheyenne appears to be the Best Aerial weapons system compatible with troop lift helicopters than ran satisfy the army s divergent nerds. With its Duy and night target lion and weapons deployment capability. It will be the most versatile and potent Aerial weapons system the army l As Ever later belts said for he first time tomorrow s military ground commander will have a flexible and totally integrated gunfire support system design from the very beginning to acquire Ana attack targets instantly targets begun the Range or reaction time Capa Jimj of his ground based weapon. By Means of Cheyenne units at the various Levels of command comm will have at their disposal a new Sive capability an extremely r a Man Euver element with which ence the course of Battle. A task Force commander who in a Quick reinforcement will know us 1 next higher Headquarters can p �. This added firepower in minutes hours or Days through Che Einis 0 to my the stars and stripes sunday 10, 196
