Terminology and Definitions - Air Force

[vbaum]

Greetings to all military enthusiasts! I am a professional in the translation and interpretation industry and I am a newbie to this forum. I work a lot with different types of documents and in my line of work I am always in a process of doing research. Hence, I decided to join this forum and ask for expert advice instead of searching the web and not finding what I look for. Hope my questions can be beneficial to other users as well.

Question of the day:

What is the difference between attack helicopter battalion and assault helicopter battalion?

 

[RobWilliams]

Welcome to the forum mate

I'd imagine the difference between the pair would be the attack helicopter battalion would be based around attack helicopters such as the Apache AH-64 or Mi-24 Hind who carry offensive armaments whose primary job is to destroy enemy positions using said weaponry and supporting troops with close air support.

An assault helicopter battalion would be based around utility or troop carrying helicopters whose primary job is to ferry troops like the Royal Navy Merlin say (in a naval scenario) from ship to shore. They are lightly armed typically, but they are not equivalent to attack helicopters.

At least, that's what i'd imagine it to be.

 

[vbaum]

Welcome to the forum mate

I'd imagine the difference between the pair would be the attack helicopter battalion would be based around attack helicopters such as the Apache AH-64 or Mi-24 Hind who carry offensive armaments whose primary job is to destroy enemy positions using said weaponry and supporting troops with close air support.

An assault helicopter battalion would be based around utility or troop carrying helicopters whose primary job is to ferry troops like the Royal Navy Merlin say (in a naval scenario) from ship to shore. They are lightly armed typically, but they are not equivalent to attack helicopters.

At least, that's what i'd imagine it to be.

RobWilliams,

Thank you for your reply. This then prompts a follow-up question, based on TC 1-400 Chapter 2 (unfortunately the forum is not allowing me to post links yet)

in that chapter two types of units are mentioned: assault helicopter battalion and attack reconnaissance battalion, which is typically comprised of AH-64s. And actually, things are pretty clear with assault helicopter type. But it seems that "attack helicopter" might be the same as "attack reconnaissance", because "attack helicopter" is not mentioned anywhere.

Any thoughts?

 

[RobWilliams]

It is very much the same thing, take the Australian Armed Forces for example. They operate the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter and is called such by other armed forces (like France, Spain and Germany). In the Spanish Army i'm fairly sure it's part of an Attack Helicopter Battalion.

The reason why I bring up Australia is as follows, they designate their Tigers as the Tiger ARH which stands for Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter because technically that is what it is. They have the sensors required to do quite a good job in the recce role (which we've seen in Afghanistan with Apache).

Basically, it's the same thing just worded different, to all intents and purposes.

 

[vbaum]

It is very much the same thing, take the Australian Armed Forces for example. They operate the Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter and is called such by other armed forces (like France, Spain and Germany). In the Spanish Army i'm fairly sure it's part of an Attack Helicopter Battalion.

The reason why I bring up Australia is as follows, they designate their Tigers as the Tiger ARH which stands for Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter because technically that is what it is. They have the sensors required to do quite a good job in the recce role (which we've seen in Afghanistan with Apache).

Basically, it's the same thing just worded different, to all intents and purposes.

Thank you very much - this is most helpful.

 

[Gremlin29]

I'm in an ARB. The change from an Attack Battalion to an Attack Reconnaissance Battalion comes from the evolution of the structure of the US Army. Much like the combat brigade changes, it really has to do with the organizational aspect of who owns what hence who supports who. (AHB's, GSAB's and CAB's).

 

[vbaum]

I'm in an ARB. The change from an Attack Battalion to an Attack Reconnaissance Battalion comes from the evolution of the structure of the US Army. Much like the combat brigade changes, it really has to do with the organizational aspect of who owns what hence who supports who. (AHB's, GSAB's and CAB's).

Thank you, Gremlin29! So, I guess there is not much point to try and figure it out completely, because it might change in the evolution process again at some point in the future? When that change comes as a result of evolution processes inside the Army, does it come with the change of duties and responsibilities as well?

Thanks again,
Viktoria

 

[Gremlin29]

It will definately be changing in the future. For example, the CAB's currently have an Attack Reconnaissance Squadron in their organization. These are equipped with the OH58D. With the Army's decision to eliminate the OH58D airframe, it's mission will be picked up by the AH64D/E. Prior to this decision X number of AH64E aircraft were going to be in the fleet. Now it appears the plan is a total replacement of the D with the E (thanks to future funding from the OH58D). The current lot of AH64E as I understand it is capable of level 2 UAV control while subsequent lots will increase UAV capability to the final goal of level 5 control (control of the UAV's flight, ISR and attack capabilities). How many AH64's will it take to replace an ASR I do not know but I suspect it will be on a 1 to 3 ratio.