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Actually the Apache has a reasonably effective 30mm cannon that works well in many CAS situations. As far as guided weapons go, the GPS guided bombs are the pr

Actually the Apache has a reasonably effective 30mm cannon that works well in many CAS situations. As far as guided weapons go, the GPS guided bombs are the preferred CAS solution. Current laser designators compute the map coordinates of target locations. These are then uploaded to the aircraft, and then to the weapons. Shortly thereafter the weapons land within a couple of meters of the designated spot. The "eyes on the target" are the eyes of the ground troops, who have the greatest interest in eliminating said target. The use of GPS guided bombs means that CAS aircraft can loiter at fairly high altitudes (> 5000 ft), and drop munitions as needed. This eliminates the need for titanium bathtubs and the like.

cptskippy 11y ago
> Actually the Apache has a reasonably effective 30mm cannon that works well in many CAS situations. The cannon on the Apache is secondary, the Hellfire II system is the primary weapon of the Apache Longbow. > As far as guided weapons go, the GPS guided bombs are the preferred CAS solution. I would say that any fire and forget system is preferred, which includes smart bombs but also the Hellfire II system utilized by Apache Longbows and drones. > The use of GPS guided bombs means that CAS aircraft can loiter at fairly high altitudes (> 5000 ft) I'm not disagreeing with you but the Hellfire II system is fire-and-forget, has an 8km range, and is utilized heavily on drone platforms operating at high altitudes.