The Apache’s technological superiority in the weapons department consists of outstanding armaments such as the M230 30mm Chain Gun, which is capable of 625 rounds per minute, the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire radar guided anti-tank missile, and the AGM-114K Hellfire II laser guided anti-tank missiles which have ranges of 8km to 12km. It is also equipped with air-to-air missiles (Stinger, AIM-9 Sidewinder, Mistral and Sidearm) and 2.75inch rockets. Its electronic equipments include the Longbow radar, which is a very low peak power and a MilliMetric band system, with extremely low side lobes by virtue of a very large relative antenna size. Also, an incorporated Pilot Night Vision Sensor (PNVS) and Target acquisition and designation system (TADS) carries out search, detection and recognition. This is automatically transported to the vision of the monocular pilot and gunner, which uses it as a stimulus for firing. The AH-64D relies its combat survivability on radar and laser warning receivers, and chaff and flare dispensers.
The principal mission of the Apache AH-64D is the destruction of high-value targets with the HELLFIRE missile and increase combat effectiveness over the AH-64A by providing a more flexible digital electronics architecture. It is designed to fight and survive during day and night, and in adverse weather throughout the world. Through its Fire Control Radar, the AH 64-D aims to detect, classify and prioritise stationary and moving targets both on the ground and in the air. Also, with state of the art fire control, digital communications, automatic target classification and many other up to date features, the AH-64D Longbow Apache aims to dominate the digitised battlefield for years to come.
During the recent Gulf War on the evolving battlefield air defence threat, the Apache Longbow AH-64D played a significantly decisive role for the US Army. It was able to significantly reduce crew workload in night and adverse weather and high threat environments, improve survivability in the face of pulse Doppler equipped SPAAGs and radar guided SAMs, outstandingly increase situational awareness in a highly dynamic and high threat battlefield environment, and improve weapons reach and countermeasures immunity, much shorter engagement times, while allowing for much higher aggregate rates of missile fire.
M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank
Contrastingly, the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank (MBT) was first produced in 1985, and since then has been the backbone of the armoured forces of the United States military, and several of US allies. This most powerful machine coordinates its high tempo via its digitised situational awareness and the combination of onboard and remote battlefield sensors. The M1A1 is an improved version of the M1 Main Battle Tank (MBT) as it significantly increases the capabilities across the full spectrum of conflict. The layout of the Abrams follows classic tank design and accommodates a crew of four: Commander, Gunner, Loader and Driver.
The M1A1 Abrams has technological pioneering aspects. Its armament includes a 120mm M256 smoothbore main gun, which is technological breakthrough because it is able to penetrate uranium armour. Also, it consists of a 12.7mm Browning M2 machine gun and the loader has a 7.62mm M240 machine gun, which is mounted coaxially on the right hand side of the main armament. These provide maximum cover fire for forward advancement of ground troops. For safety and survivability, it has a NBC (nuclear, chemical and biological) overpressure protection system, which protects from nuclear, chemical and biological warfare, and it incorporates steel encased depleted uranium armour, which provides a higher level of protection against anti-tank weapons. For propulsion, it is equipped with an AGT 1500 gas turbine engine.
The principle mission of this tank is to provide mobile firepower for armoured formations of sufficient capability to successfully close with and destroy any opposing armoured fighting vehicle in the world, while providing protection for it's crew in any conceivable combat environment. It further aims to engage the enemy in any weather, day or night on the multi-dimensional, non-linear battlefield using its firepower, manoeuvre, and shock effect.
The first crucial test for the M1A1 Abrams was the Gulf War in 1991, when it played a decisive role in spearheading the U.S attack on Iraqi fortifications and engaged enemy tanks whenever and wherever possible. The tank’s ability to fire reliably when moving at speed over rough ground (because of the stabilized gun mount) gave it a capability that proved valuable in the Gulf War. Its vision devices proved effective not only at night, but also in the dust and smoke of Kuwaiti daytime. Its thermal sights were unhampered by the clouds of thick black smoke over the battlefields that were the result of burning Kuwaiti oil wells On average, a M1A1 Abrams outranged an Iraqi tank by about 1,000 meters. As a result, out of a total 1,848 M1A1 tanks, only eighteen were taken out of service due to battle damage: nine were permanent losses, and another nine suffered repairable damage, mostly from mines
