![]() Staying above 500 feet enables pilots to avoid wires and power lines above 1,500 feet, RPGs and above 3,000 feet, small arms and light machine gun fire.įighting in an urban environment increases the need to carry out nighttime operations because insurgents often use nighttime maneuver for cover. Instead, maintaining a high altitude allows pilots to avoid many of the urban combat threats. For example, in the first 3 months of OIF, 12 US Army helicopters were shot down, all at 400 feet or below. Losses suffered early on in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) convinced the US Army that flying low and fast was contributing to high helicopter losses. ![]() However, flying low and fast has made helicopters more vulnerable to a number of urban combat threats: terrain, wires/powerlines, rocket-propelled grenades, small arms fire, and MANPADS. If the helicopter had a mechanical problem or was hit by enemy fire, the pilot could ditch the helicopter more easily at a low altitude. Low-level flying also improved the survivability of the crew when something went wrong. Flying low and fast enabled pilots to avoid radar-guided missiles and anti-aircraft artillery. “Low and fast” has been the mantra of US helicopter pilots for much of the post-war era.
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