Sikorsky RAH-70 Sea Comanche

  The Sea Comanche is the UCAS's standard naval attack helicopter both designed in support of naval and land attack operations. Using the same basic airframe that was deployed earlier this century, Sikorsky engineers saved considerable time in developing and testing this aicraft.
  The Sea Comanche was developed for operations in the sea, and features standard naval components. The rear tailwheel was moved forward a bit, to allow the Sea Comanche to land on destroyer landing pads, featuring two wheels that also steer the aircraft when on a flat surface. The main rotors fold for easier stowage in a hangar as well. The fuselage is protected against sea corrosion, and the whole fuselage is strengthened for use on a ship. The rear fantail is completely shrouded, and is one of the main safety features that has saved a few lives. A small grate is over the fantail, ensuring noone gets caught in there. The Sea Comanche's impressive maneuverability is given by the use of the drive-by-wire system, combined with structural agility modifications, makes the craft highly unstable, all the while giving an added edge to any pilot. Improved control surfaces also improve the handling characteristics of the craft as well. In the cockpit, secondary controls are added, in case of either pilot either unable to pilot because of injuries, or upon pilot death. APPS is fitted as further protection against hazardous landings on ships in bad sea conditions as well. Each pilot sits in Martin-Baker 700 series seats, which incorporates a small space for extra gear, and a personal weapon should the need arise as well. The helicopter is fully rigger capable allowing superior control as well. The inclusion of smart materials in the frame allow the helicopter to go faster, and accelerate better than most, while not reducint the efficiency of the fuel system as well. Additionally, the smart materials reduce the characteristic "whup whup" associated with helicopters. Thermal baffles are fitted to reduce the thermal signature, while radar absorbing materials and innovative shaping reduce the radar cross section (RCS) of the helicopter even more.
  Electronics consist of AN/4500C sensors combined with a Nose mounted sighting system that incorporates LLTV, FLIR, and a laser designator, and a microwave designator for anti-ship missiles. Inclusion of the Battletac FDDM system allows OTH (Over The Horizon) targeting, and the ability to call in other assets as well. The chopper features Marconi PL89/90 ECM and ECCM systems for electronic warfare protection as well. There was talk of including ED and ECD, but the frame of the helicopter didn't allow for it. Mounted along the fuselage are CelsiusTech chaff/flare dispensers for additional protection.
  The Sea Comanche however has a limited amount of weaponry though, but that is because it really wasn't designed for front line combat, but recon, deep strike, and ASW. The nose features a mini turret mounted HMG, which is stored in a fairing to the rear of the turret. The turret can nominally be stowed when needed, and deploys on demand, and includes Gunnery Recoil Adjusters to reduce the heavy recoil this weapon produces. In the middle of the fuselage are two internal missile bays that can both mount various weapons or pods. Typical armament are small anti-tank missiles, and self-defence missiles. To improve the capability however, the Sea Comanche can mount an EFAMS wing on each side. This has an additional hardpoint, and can carry additional missiles, fuel, and torpedos or weapon pods as needed. The only drawback of course is that the system can reduce the vehicle's signature. These are attached to special hardpoints on the side.

  Handling | Speed | Accel | Body | Armor | Sig | Autonav | Cargo | Load | Cost
  2 | 403 | 40 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 1562 | 15,473,150¥

  Seating: 2 bucket seats
  Access: 2 canopy
  Economy: 0.3 km per liter
  Fuel: Jet (3,000 liters)
  Cargo: 2 x 2 CF underseat.
  Sensors: Military I (8)
  ECM/ECCM: Military II (9)/Military II (9)
  Other Features: Signature Improvement 2 (Stealth Shaping), Smart Materials, Structural Agility 1, Drive-by-Wire 1, Datajack Port, Rigger Adaptation, Secondary Controls, Thermal Baffles 2, RAM 2, Battletac FDDM, 80 Chaff/Flare tubes, Nose Mounted Sight (Thermographic, Low-Light, Laser Designator, Microwave Designator.
  Armament: Nose mounted pop-up turret with an HMG with 1 CF of dedicated ammo storage and Level 6 Gunnery Recoil Adjusters. Two internal missile mounts with two mounts that can accept up to 2 CF of weaponry, and two internal hardpoints that can mount the EFAMS system (see below).
  EFAMS
  Originally developed and used with the RAH-66 Comanche, the EFAMS system allows vehicles to carry extra ordnance when the mission requires it. Using an external mounting point coupled with a hardpoint, the EFAMS is one of the most modular system to be used. The system mounts an additional hardpoint with 4 CF capacity, and can allow fuel tanks to be carried, extending the vehicles range considerably. However, the benefit in firepower is offset by the increased Signature that happens. In game terms, reduce the vehicles Signature by 1 to reflect the additional area. Each EFAMS weighs 100 kilograms, and can hold up to 600 kilograms of ordnance, or other systems. No other special modifications are necessary, only requiring an internal hardpoint configured for the EFAMS wings. Cost for the entire system is 20,000¥ and has an availability of 16/20 days, and a Street Index of 4.
  Comments?
  Me.
  Fresh Productions, 1999.