FMolloy I'm sure you're the man to realise that this is in danger of veering off topic, after all the topic's not about what "I think". Although since you asked; I would have assumed that a the military variant of the AB-139 wouldve had some level of armour (i.e. Kevlar) installed to protect the pilot/troops and the aircrafts vital systems from small arms fire, something which I dont believe is on your average civilan helicopter, but I could be wrong.
A quote from http://www.ainonline.com/issues/06_0...9twinpg80.html :
Taken from the horses mouth as it were, that says to me that there is a difference between a civilian and military helicopter. Although whether crash proof seats + door mounted guns = that missing 10% I dont know.
I raised the question because it appears there is a military variant of the AB-139 available - and I pictured it above, the version in question can take missiles and anti-aircraft weapons - something I've yet to see on a civilan helicopter. It also looked visually different - with extra sensors placed on the front.
The Namibian helicopter is for VIP transport rather than troop transport, i.e. it is not the military version I am referring to or pictured earlier, therefore if we were in fact getting the military version we would be that types "launch customer". The same is true of the Dauphin - it was in civilian use before we purchased it.
I simply wanted to know whether this was the one we were getting, I got the answer, and now you're now asking me what I think a military helicopter is for some reason.
A quote from http://www.ainonline.com/issues/06_0...9twinpg80.html :
Moreover, added Bartolotta, the military potential of the AB139 can be realized without costly additional design. “The requirements [civil and military] have merged. Today, we can achieve 90 percent of military specs without any changes. The JAR/FAR 29 civilian certification already demands self-sealing, crashworthy fuel tanks; the composite blades have inherently high ballistic tolerance; and the large sliding doors help meet the troop egress requirements,” he noted, reflecting on both European and U.S. standards.
I raised the question because it appears there is a military variant of the AB-139 available - and I pictured it above, the version in question can take missiles and anti-aircraft weapons - something I've yet to see on a civilan helicopter. It also looked visually different - with extra sensors placed on the front.
The Namibian helicopter is for VIP transport rather than troop transport, i.e. it is not the military version I am referring to or pictured earlier, therefore if we were in fact getting the military version we would be that types "launch customer". The same is true of the Dauphin - it was in civilian use before we purchased it.
I simply wanted to know whether this was the one we were getting, I got the answer, and now you're now asking me what I think a military helicopter is for some reason.
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