European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday september 20, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 3 the Ferrari of copters impresses Pilot suit writer Schwabish Hall West Germany perched on the ground in lakes on the Gawky look of a giant Horsefly. Bui in the air the ah-64a Apache attack helicopter becomes a darting devious fighting machine that makes army capt Mike Karr drool. The Apache is probably he Best aircraft i be Ever flown in my life said Karr an Apache Pilot with the re. A a autumn forge 2nd sol 6lh Cav regt in inks him and 11-year Veteran of army helicopter units. Eighteen of the aircraft the newest addition to the army s inventory of flying tank killers Are taking part in exercise certain Challenge which continues in Northern Bavaria through thursday. During one of its missions last week a troop of six apaches was credited with destroying Boul 60 tanks several military vehicles and assorted ground troops during a simulated Battle Karr said. We were engaging them from about three or four kicks about iwo Miles out Karr said. They never saw in a real conflict that kind of stealth coupled wit the Apache s ability to Fly Day and night missions under Adverse weather conditions is expected to help turn the tide in a massed Warsaw pact invasion of Western Europe. Two sophisticated electronic systems which Cost a total of is million arc located on the nose of the aircraft the target acquisition and designation sight and the Pilot s in Fth sensor. They provide he helicopter with the capability to detect and shoot enemy targets at All hour Sand in All weather conditions Karr said. The Copilot gunner is the primary operator of the target detection system and targets can be tracked manually or automatically for attack with gun rockets or Armor Pierc ing hellfire missiles. The Daylight sensor uses a television camera with wide and narrow angles a laser spot tracker and laser Rangefinder do signator. The Craft s night vision system uses an infrared scanner that can detect a target s heal source fro great distances. Target information then is Ted to a monocle worn on the Pilot s helmet which also Dis up to 16 hell ire anti tank missiles can be launched when he Apache is masked behind a Hill or tree line. Sis Brendl Hofter plays airspeed Altitude and Fly Best at bit said. We can scan an area let s say a Wood line and pick up heat Early in the certain Challenge exercise Karr and his Alpha troop of six apaches flew at night through four rain showers about 60 Miles away from their staging area in a deep strike the night vision system we could Sec like it was daytime he said. The two Man Apache Crew consists of a Pilot who sits in an elevated rear seat and the Copilot gunner in front above the improve the Craft s chances of resuming from a fire fight the Are separated by a Bullet proof shield capable of stopping 23mm Cannon shot Karr Apache also is capable of flying on one of its iwo engines and during tests its main Rotor Blad survived a worse ease hit by a heat seeking incendiary round said a spokesman for Mcdonnell Douglas corp which manufactures the , with tour Blades on the Tail Rotor Karr said if you lose one Blade it can keep flying. If you lose two Blades it can keep the belly of he Apache Between the Mam wheel legs is a 30mm Chain gun automatic canno similar to that carried by the air Force s a-10 Lank killer Craft Only slightly smaller. The gun s maximum ammunition Load is 1,200rounds.up to 16 Hal firc anti Lank missiles earned on both sides of he aircraft can be launched when the aircraft is masked or hidden behind a Hill or Tercel inc. The missile guided by the laser system locks Onlo it target after launching. The Copilot has primary responsibility for launching the hell firms but the Pilot can Over ride his controls to fire the guns or launch missiles. Rounding out the Apache s weapon systems arc a pair of 70mm rockets located on cipher Side of he helicopter. The apaches with a Price tag of about $ 13 million each first were delivered in 1984, and by 1985 they were being used at the army aviation school Al fort Rucker Apache units arc now fielded and two More arc being trained according to Mcdonnell Douglas. Currently the Only Active Apache unit in Germany is the 2nd so 6th Cav regt in ill Schirn with an authorized strength of 18 aircraft. The unit is part of the 1 i Iii combat aviation apaches arrived in january after the unit participated in certain strike exercises during last year s return of forces to Germany Maneu vers according to Mcdonnell Apache battalion ran into stiff opposition from local residents who went to court to try to Stop the stationing of the helicopters at Wiesbaden a. However the Wiesbaden residents Are opposing any additional air Craft at the base not specifically the ah-64a. In Karr s opinion the Apache s Speed and Man Euvera ability make it second to none among attack helicopters. There s nothing that compares to he said. Iguess it s like driving a Ferrari. This is the sports car of 2 . Carrier groups sending a signal to soviets by Dave Dieh staff Miter aboard the Carrier Theodore Roose velt the first Ever deployment of two . Navy Carrier groups in nato s Northern flank is a message to the soviet Union a lop Admiral says. We re sending a signal that in times of crisis this won l be unusual said vice adm. Jerome John son who is commanding maritime forces in team work 88, a nine nation 22-Day exercise on inc Western coast of , commander of striking Fleck Atlantic and the Carrier task Force operating in the Arctic Waters spoke saturday aboard the United slates newest air Craft inc norwegian sea around him under his com Mand were More than 200 ships led by the Roosevelt and Forrestal Carrier Battle groups. Johnson said in a news conference that the Force Isone of the most powerful to sail in the area and includes an is vessel anti submarine Force in addition tothe 29-ship Carrier task Force. The ships Are supporting a multinational ground Force that went ashore on the Northern norwegian Mainland Friday. The exercise is to practice maritime and amphibious defense and reinforcement in nato s important and sensitive Northern nato plan for the includes up to four Carrier Bailie groups during a time of trouble John son said. Ideally nato navies would arrive earlier to establish a presence and defend repel or prevent any kind of soviet aggression pushing West from me Kola officers in teamwork 88 have been emphasizing that the norwegian Border and inc water surrounding it would be a critical ingredient to soviet Success in any confrontation with the fee we need at least three carriers in this re Gion in order to come to some degree of balance against the threat from the Kola Peninsula Johnson Elliot the naval editor of Jane s defence weekly was in no Wayto see the teamwork exercise. He believes the Region critical to any potential westbound soviet offensive to be a Likely area for the soviets to de ploy a Carrier group. But that would not alter John son s strategy. If the soviets com into this Region Fine if they want to operate outta sea. I m going Loop Erate my ships just As device adm. Johnson do right now independently Johnson said. But i la always be conscious of where they Are. If situations escalate where there arc tensions rising i would suspect thai they May with draw those units from this Region if we re nato Secretary general Manfred Wornor said sunday that the soviet Union has shown More restraint than in the past in response to the Natoma to. Never the associated press soviet observers Are not describing teamwork As a threat or provocation said Sroor who visited the exercise area this past weekend. I fully share this soviet View. Of course it is not a threat or provocation against anybody whal it is or is meant to be is to demonstrate hat nato s will and ability to defend it Northern areas is unchanged we per said the exercise contributes to the stability which is necessary for peace and Trust in an area where the soviet Union has assembled its largest Mari time his remarks were distributed by the Allied press information Center Johnson at his news conference said a Large pan of any Atlantic crossing and positioning off Norway by the .Navy involves anti submarine detection and warfare. Of concern to naval commanders is the massive soviet submarine Fleet that operates out of Murmansk and in North Atlantic norwegian sea and Arctic sea calling the soviet submarine Fleet a primary threat Johnson said his task Force pcs not include a larger than Normal contingent of anti submarine ves Sels or certainly a major item of interest to us is the movement of those submarines Johnson we Don t know what would be the deployment pattern of the soviet Union in times of crisis. We suspect thai they Are going to search out a certain number of their submarines for the role of interdicting our movements and to trait us and to try to find out what we re doing. We want to be Able to counter that threat with the appropriate number of forces in a Well balanced
