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| u.s. military reconnaissance aircraft 2000-2009 | |
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For alternate meanings, see Comanche (disambiguation) The Boeing / Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche was an advanced U.S. Army military Helicopter intended for the armed Reconnaissance role, incorporating Stealth techniques. Had it entered service, it would have been the first U.S. helicopter specifically designed for the all-weather armed scout mission and the first 'stealth' helicopter, but it was cancelled in February 2004 . DEVELOPMENT The Army currently has an armed scout helicopter in its fleet — the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior — but that aircraft is an upgraded version of a Vietnam -era observation helicopter. In contrast, the Comanche was specifically tailored to the role of armed scout. It is smaller and lighter than the Apache gunship — 43 feet (13.1 m) long and 7,700 pounds (3500 kg) vs. 51 feet (15.5 m) and 11,400 pounds (5200 kg) – and its Composite Material airframe incorporated stealth features to avoid detection, such as retractable weapon stations and main gun, faceting and RAM. Its noise signature was also noticeably small compared with other helicopters in its class. The Comanche's very sophisticated detection and navigation systems were intended to allow it to operate at night and in bad weather, which the Kiowa Warrior cannot do effectively. Its airframe was designed to fit more easily than the Apache into transport aircraft or onto transport ships, enabling it to be deployed to hot spots quickly. If transport assets were not available, the Comanche's ferry range of 1,260 Nautical Miles (2330 km) would even allow it to fly to battlefields overseas on its own. The Army planned to purchase almost 1,300 Comanches to fill the scout and light attack roles, with the first craft to be brought into the Army in 2004 . The Army conducted flight qualification tests and evaluated the eight prototypes that it planned to build. The first of those prototypes was rolled out of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation 's helicopter production facility in May 1995 and was scheduled for its first flight in December 1995. However, on February 23 , 2004, the U.S. Army announced their decision to cancel the Comanche helicopter program in view of the growing popularity in the military of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance purposes – in addition to tests, UAVs had proved their worth in the American War On Terrorism against Afghanistan and Iraq . About US$8 billion had already been invested in the Comanche program at the time of its termination and an additional US$450-680 million was required in contract termination fees to main program partners Sikorsky and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems . Technology developed for the Comanche will be integrated into the Apache and other U.S. military helicopter developments. THE COMANCHE IN POPULAR CULTURE
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