Kawasaki AH-2

WinterMoon

WinterMoon

ACCESS: Restricted
Joined
3 April 2024
Messages
2
Reaction score
12
I thought I'd post about this sense nobody has.

  • Guns: 20 mm M197 electric cannon
  • Rockets: Hydra 70
  • Missiles: Type 91 Kai air-to-air missiles (SAM-2B), Type 96 multi-purpose missile system (MPMS, ATM-4)
  • Hardpoints: 4× hardpoints under stub wings
  • Dimensions: ~13.2 m length, ~3.8 m height, 12.4 m main rotor diameter
  • Crew: : 2 (pilot and co-pilot/gunner)
  • Maximum Speed: Unknown
  • Powerplant: 2x Mitsubishi XTS-2 (940 kW, 1260 hp each)
ah 1.jpeg
New attack helicopter based on OH-1.
ah 2.jpeg ah 3.jpeg ah 4.jpeg ah8.jpeg
OH-1
ah 5.png ah 6.png ah 7.png
Engine is speculated to be the XTS2.
 
Cool. So Japan joins PRC, Turkey (or however we spell it now), and Italy in developing heavier new attack helicopters just as the talking heads insist the age of the AH is over.
I wonder which side is correct?
 
Grey Havoc said:
That article may be out of date though.
Click to expand...

Doesn't seem to be. I can't see any sign of Japan budgeting for an attack helicopter recently.

The AH-2 was more of a thing back in the early 2000s, but it lost out to the AH-64 in 2005. Japan killed that program after procuring a dozen or so Apaches, considered it again around 2007-8 and decided not to buy any more attack helos. Fast forward to 2023 when the decision was announced to divest the AH-1s in favor of drones.
 
This tread really belongs in the Postwar Projects section since its a (modern) historic project.
 
Apache's are not inexpensive and man power intensive to maintain. More likely Japan has realized that anti-ship and air defense are higher priority these days. There is little likelihood anyone intends to invade Japan physically anyway. So just like the U.S. Army they are reducing the number of attack helicopter units to build more air defense units.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom