#APACHE AIR ASSAULT MANUAL MANUAL#

One specific type of air assault unit is the US Army air cavalry. ), air resupply, and if necessary air extraction. Units vary in size, but are typically company- or brigade-sized units.Īirmobile units are designed and trained for air insertion and vertical envelopment ('a maneuver in which troops, either air-dropped or air-landed, attack the rear and flanks of a force, in effect cutting off or encircling the force'. Airmobile artillery is often assigned to air assault deployments. 'Air assault operations are not merely movements of soldiers, weapons, and materiel by Army aviation units and must not be construed as such.'Īir assault units can vary in organization using helicopters not only in transport but also as close air fire support, medical evacuation helicopters and resupply missions. However, air assault is distinctly a combat insertion rather than transportation to an area in the vicinity of combat.

Air assault should also not be confused with forms of military transport operations known as air landing, airlift, or airbridge, that all require an already secured place to land-an airhead.Īir assault and air mobility are related concepts. Moreover, air assault should not be confused with an airborne assault, which occurs when paratroopers, and their weapons and supplies, are dropped by parachute from transport aircraft, often as part of a strategic offensive operation. Invariably the assaulting troops are highly dependent on aerial fire support provided by the armed helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft escorting the VTOL.Īir assault should not be confused with air attack, air strike, or air raid, which all refer to attack using solely aircraft (for example bombing, strafing, etc.). ĭue to the transport load restrictions of helicopters, air assault forces are usually light infantry, though some armored fighting vehicles, like the Russian BMD-1 are designed to fit most heavy lift helicopters, which enable assaulting forces to combine air mobility with a certain degree of ground mechanization.

#APACHE AIR ASSAULT MANUAL MANUAL#

The US Army field manual FM 1-02 (FM 101-5-1) describes an 'air assault operation' as an (DOD) Operation in which assault forces (combat, combat service, and combat service support), using the firepower, mobility, and total integration of helicopter assets, maneuver on the battlefield under the control of the ground or air maneuver commander to engage and destroy enemy forces or to seize and hold key terrain. In addition to regular infantry training, air-assault units usually receive training in rappelling and air transportation, and their equipment is sometimes designed or field-modified to allow better transportation within aircraft.

They can also act as attack helicopters with the addition of two pods of four TOW wire-guided anti-tank missiles.Īir assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft-such as the helicopter-to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces. Royal Marines Commandos preparing to abseil down from a Royal Marines Lynx helicopter from 847 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), used in utility support of 3 Commando Brigade. Army, a combination of paratrooper wings and the image of a 'Huey' helicopter

Apache air assault manual