With the whistling sound of rockets, the Wuzhi-10 successfully used the long-range attack tactic of back-firing for the first time! Although it has always been a common fighting method for the Russian army, compared with it, it obviously has an advantage that the other side does not have.
Recently, the training dynamics of the army aviation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army have attracted widespread attention. It is known that the helicopter gunships of the Russia Aerospace Forces used rocket-fired long-range tactics during the special military operation in 2022.
But now, the Chinese army aviation is also beginning to adopt and practice this technique. So, what exactly is the long-range attack tactic of rocket backfire? What are the benefits of this tactic?
(Illustration: Ka-52 helicopter firing S-8 rockets from the back)
Judging from the experience of Russia's helicopter gunships on the battlefield in Ukraine, at the beginning of the special military operation, the Russian Aerospace Forces still relied on traditional rocket attack tactics, that is, the dive launch of gunships such as the Ka-52M and Mi-28NM, relying on accurate fire control calculations to guide rocket launches.
This approach has worked well in past conflicts, but on the battlefield it is ineffective in the face of the dense man-portable air defense systems of the Ukraine army.
With the joint support of the United States and the West, Ukraine's air defense capabilities, especially portable air defense missile systems such as "Stinger", "Starlight" and "Needle-1", provide the Ukrainian army with extremely strong defense capabilities, resulting in serious restrictions on the helicopter attack tactics adopted by the Russian army in the early days.
After reflecting on the lessons of the battlefield, the Russia military quickly adjusted to reduce losses, and in this way, the rocket back-fire long-range attack tactic came into being.
To put it simply, by allowing the gunship to raise its nose at a certain angle to launch rockets, the rocket can fly in a curve, and this upward firing tactic can make the helicopter out of the effective strike range of the anti-aircraft missile, providing the pilot with more reaction time and the opportunity to avoid enemy anti-aircraft fire. At the same time, it can also greatly extend the attack range of rockets.
(Illustration: Z-10 helicopter gunship launches rockets from the back)
However, the Russian army is not the originator of this tactic, which can be traced back to the Afghanistan war in the 80s of the last century, when Soviet pilots faced Afghanistan guerrillas equipped with American-made Stinger missiles and invented this method to strike the enemy from a safe distance.
Now, this tactic has continued. According to military reports, a brigade of the 72nd Group Army of the Eastern Theater Army organized helicopter gunship flight training at the training ground, in which the Z-10 helicopter gunship tried for the first time the technology of rocket upward firing and long-range attack, which significantly improved the range of firepower and the survivability of the helicopter.
Soon after, a brigade of the Army's 71st Army conducted the same training, but using Z-19 helicopter gunships. The success of these two trainings shows that aerial rocket ejection has become one of the standard subjects of the Chinese Army Air Force.
It is worth noting that despite the advantages of rocket firing tactics, ensuring the accuracy of strikes is still a challenge.
The Russian army predicts the landing point of the rocket through ground trial firing and other methods, and uses multi-function displays to set predetermined firing points to achieve relatively accurate strikes. However, the effectiveness of this method is still uncertain due to a variety of factors such as pilot operating skills, meteorological conditions, etc.
(Illustration: Z-10 helicopter gunships have appeared more than once in the Taiwan Strait)
In contrast, although the Z-10 also uses this tactic, it is "better than blue", which not only ensures the accuracy of the attack, but also increases the attack range.
It is reported that on this basis, China is also developing airborne rockets with higher accuracy and longer range, coupled with the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that the Russian army does not have, and for a time, our army's Z-10 and other armed helicopters seem to be installed with "clairvoyance" and "ears to the wind".
The reason why drones are mentioned here is actually a means to solve the poor accuracy of rockets during ejection.
Armed helicopters such as Z-10 and Z-19 have battlefield situational awareness capabilities that are far inferior to other fighters, and UAVs can make up for this shortcoming. With synergy, the accuracy and effect of the strike can be greatly improved.
What's more, some people have suggested that in the future, in the direction of the Taiwan Strait, armed helicopters such as the Z-10 and Z-19 will be able to rely on this tactic to become a sharp weapon for "sweeping across the Taiwan Strait" and play a huge role.