(rotor swirling) (upbeat music playing) (Gun firing) - [Sam] This is the AH-64 Apache, the most powerful attack helicopter the US Army has ever flown. Today I'm here at Fort
Rucker to take you up close to this beast of a machine. We'll be meeting the pilot, the gunner and we'll even have the chance to watch a live fire demonstration
to see what makes this thing one of the most lethal helicopters
on the battlefield today. (rotor swirling) - [Drew Barcley] Hey Sam,
welcome to Fort Rucker. - [Sam] Thank you. - [Drew Barcley] This is
the Home of Army Aviation and today, we're actually at Hanchey Army Heliport, which is home of the first battalion
14th aviation regiment where we train aviators
on the AH-64 Apache - You know, of all the
helicopters in the army, I feel like this is probably one of the most exciting to fly. I mean just looking at it, it
looks incredibly intimidating. - [Drew Barcley] It absolutely is. And actually this Apache is
the AH-64E Apache Guardian which is the newest variant of the Apache. So the Apache is the Army's
premier attack helicopter provides attack missions,
reconnaissance mission, security missions in support
of the ground force commander and is able to engage any enemy
target on the battlefield. Here at Fort Rucker, we actually
train over 700 postgraduate and undergraduate flight students flying over 40,000 flight hours a year. But today we're just
excited to have you here kind of show you the capabilities and give you a demonstration
of what this Apache can do. - [Sam] Now, when it comes to the Apache, there is a lot to talk about and that's because this aircraft is widely considered to be the best
attack helicopter in history. The Apache is known for being
fierce, lethal and deadly and so it only makes sense
to start with the features giving it that reputation. Yep, I'm talking about the weapon systems - [Drew Barcley] Under
the nose, it's probably one of the most iconic
features of the Apache. This is the M230, E1 30
millimeter chain gun. So this thing is capable of firing rounds up to 625 rounds per minute at targets in excess of 3000 meters. - You know, one thing I've
always found interesting is the way this gun can move around. So to my understanding right,
it can aim both based on where the sights are pointed but also where the pilot's
head is pointed, right? - [Drew Barcley] That's
absolutely correct. If we tie this thing to
our helmet mount display it can deflect up to 86
degrees left and right 60 degrees down, 11 degrees up. Really advantageous, cuz it
allows us to engage targets even if the nose of the
helicopter's not pointing at 'em. - [Sam] Now the targeting
system known as the TADS is what's built into
this ball like structure that sits on the nose of the aircraft. You can think of it as
the eyes of the Apache and it contains the FLIR, or forward-looking infrared
camera that relays information to both the pilot and the gunner through their helmet mounted eye piece. With this system, a target is
able to be identified, tracked and engaged using the full load
out of the Apache's weapons. - [Drew Barcley] All right Sam, so this is kind of where
the real fire power begins. Right here we have the 2.75
inch Hydra 70 rocket system. So in this actual rocket
tube here we can take up to 19 rockets. However we can put up to four of 'em on the aircraft that'd give
us a total of 76 rockets. What we can do here is, is load a couple of different types of warheads
depending on the mission. Could be high explosive,
airburst or illumination depending on what we wanna do. Okay, so on this next pylon
we got the AGM-114 Hellfires. This is actually the Apache's
primary weapon system. This is used for tank busting. So we can take up to four per pylon which would give us a total
of 16 if we wanted it. Each missile we got a
couple different seekers that we can use. So these missiles can be laser-guided or radar guided depending on the mission. So today during the live fire we're gonna concentrate primarily on the rockets in the 30 millimeter. But believe me, the lethality of this missile is pretty incredible. - [Sam] Now you guys know I'm
always trying to make the most epic videos possible,
but they do take a lot of time and resources,
which is why I want to thank War Thunder for
helping make this one happen. War Thunder is a free-to-play multi-player military game that's dedicated to aviation armored
vehicles in naval craft. Starting with the early
20th century all the way to today's most advanced combat vehicles. War Thunder allows you to take
part in simulated battles, cross land, air, and sea. Now, when I sat down to
test this game out myself there were a few things
that made it super exciting. First, it's cross-platform,
meaning it's available on both Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and Mac. And two, it fits right in with the topic of this video cuz you can actually engage in combat with your very own AH-64 Apache. And it's pretty realistic. It features both the
30 millimeter chain gun and Hydra rockets that
you can fly around in fire including an advanced
targeting system that really does mimic the TADS on
the real life Apache. War Thunder's graphics
are pretty realistic. They have excellent sound and a detailed vehicle damage model but most importantly there's
always something new appearing in the game. For example, a bunch of aircraft
and tanks were just added including the Abrams,
the Bradley, the F-16 and even the F-14 Tomcat which of course Tom Cruise famously flew in the original Top Gun movie. In the latest Sky Guardians update they're actually introducing
a lot of other cool stuff like the legendary little bird helicopter in the USS Nevada battleship. Now you can download War Thunder for free from the link in the description below where new players
actually have access to some pretty awesome bonuses. And of course I just wanna give
a huge thanks to War Thunder for helping make epic
videos like this possible. Now you may have noticed that the Apache has two
separate cockpit stations and that's because the
standard crew includes both a pilot and a gunner. While both seats contain flight controls in the ability to fire
weapons, being in the front the gunner has the best
view of the terrain which makes it easier to
identify enemy targets. On the other hand, sitting
slightly elevated in the back. The pilot station also
gives a clear forward view but it's better optimized for flying. - [Ryan Coker] Sam, where
you're sitting right now is the co-pilot's gunner seat. As you notice before there's some similarities between the two but there's also some
major differences as well. - Yeah, so talk to me a little
bit about the visibility difference, cuz I know the
backseat's a little bit raised, right? But you guys
still have to be able to see the terrain well. So what are those challenges
and how is this kind of oriented to make sure
you can deal with that? - [Ryan Coker] Absolutely. So with visibility, the backseat is more primarily designed
to fly the helicopter. So because he sits higher,
he has a better view of the terrain in the area
around the helicopter. As the gunner, the majority
of things we target is past the human line of sight anyway. So the majority of things we're
gonna target are going to be through our sights systems, right? Which we can display on any one of the three screens right here and see those targets through
our TADS in either infrared or a day TV type camera to
engage and destroy those targets. - [Sam] So I know question
I'm always wondering, right is where is the, where's the trigger? How are you firing these
weapons from up here? - Absolutely. So if you put your hand on
the grips in front of you and you feel behind it,
there's flaps on the back. If you lift those flaps,
you can feel the trigger. - [Sam] There they are. - [Ryan Coker] On the
right side is our laser that we can use to range
and designate targets and on the left side is the trigger that controls the weapon systems. We can either fire the missile, the gun or the rockets all
through that left trigger. Sam, if you wanna reach up behind you I have a helmet here that you can put on. - Okay. - And then attached to our helmet is our helmet display unit. I'll go ahead and put it on for you now. And as we roll this in
front of our eyeball, it actually that is what
we use to connect the gun to our helmet, so now
wherever you would look the gun is going to follow your eyeball. Wherever the crosshair in the middle of that helmet display unit is
on, if we pull the trigger the gun's gonna destroy that target. - [Sam] So seriously
with this little piece no matter where you move,
the gun is then moving and then you just squeeze
the trigger and it's it's that easy, huh? - Absolutely. And the cool
thing about the helmet is between your legs is the
cyclic what we use to control the helicopter. Generally when we're have the
gun connected to our sight we're gonna pull the trigger on the sight. - [Sam] Now, one thing
you may have noticed is that some Apaches are
equipped with this ball like object that sits on
the top of the main rotor. It's known as the fire
control radar or FCR. If installed it allows for the tracking of multiple targets at
much greater distances. In fact, with the FCR
attached, the Apache can hide behind the tree line targeting
and firing at an enemy by only revealing the
very top of the radar one Apache equipped
with an FCR can transmit that target data to any other
Apache flying alongside it which is why it's common
to see a mix of aircraft with it attached and some without. - [Ryan Coker] OK, so we're up here at the Apache's rotor system. So this is a fully
articulated rotor system 49 feet diameter. We have our main rotor right here and in the back we have our tail rotor. And the tail rotor actually
counteracts the torque produced by the main rotor. - [Sam] So I'd always assumed
in a helicopter to go higher you're actually spinning the rotor faster and like to go lower,
it's the the opposite. But you were telling me earlier
that's not really the case, right? - [Ryan Coker] It's not, no. Once we get the rotor
up to its optimal RPM, our rotor RPM, we actually
change the collective pitch of the blades to go up and down and then we cyclically change the pitch of the blades to go left,
right forward and ... - So the blades are really
like deflecting or or or coming back up. So the speed's the same, it's just the the angle of these is what's
making you go up and down. - That's exactly right. - Well thank you so much
for the tour of the Apache. I guess next up we've
got the live fire demo. - That's right. We're actually gonna
go inside and gear up. You're welcome to join but we should be running
up here momentarily. - Sounds good. (upbeat music) So I know you're not wearing everything that Apache pilots might
have when you're going into a combat situation, but
can you talk a little bit about what you're wearing right now? - Sure. So this is our survival vest here. Couple pieces of equipment on it. I have my survival radio right here. I have my survival knife right here. Both of these are kind
of our primary tools if for whatever reason we would have to evade, surviving the
wilderness, anything like that. Inside of this thing, I got two pouches, one is a medical pouch, one
is a communication pouch. Medical pouch with various
types of medicines, bandages, tourniquets. Communication pouch with,
you know, signaling mirrors, fire starters, again,
anything needed to survive. And then lastly, I have
my helmet bag located below me that will have
my helmet, my gloves, checklists stuff that
we're gonna use here on on pre-flight and run out. (upbeat music) (rotor swirling) (upbeat music) Once we landed at the ammo
field, I made my way out of the black Hawk over to the Apache where I was actually able to help
with some of the loading. This was pretty wild, just
getting a hands-on experience up close to the rockets
in 30 millimeter rounds that we would soon be
firing, it was crazy. After I did my part, I turned it back over to the professionals who
gave me a good look at what it really means to be efficient at loading the Apache. Once the loading was complete I made my way back to the Black Hawk. The pilots got the prop
spinning and lifted us back up meaning it was finally time to head over to the range where the live
fire portion of the demo would take place. (harmonious music) As we made it into the hovering
position, the Apache crew began to search and verify
the target down range. You'll hear the interaction
between both crew members with the gunner typically
establishing contact and the pilot confirming
they are locked on - [Sam] Now the targets are
spread out both at long range and close range distances. What you'll hear is the
crew identifying the target and confirming how they want to engage. In this case, either the
30 millimeter chain gun or the Hydra rockets - [Sam] At this point,
it's finally time to fire. (gun firing) - [Sam] Once the payload has been released the crew will then confirm if
the target has been suppressed or if an additional payload is required. - [Sam] As the Apache
reconfigured for another round of firing the black hawk took
us up to a higher altitude so that we could witness the live fire from a different vantage point. This time, looking down on the Apache. The pilot and Gunner went through their standard checklist once again. This time choosing to engage
the close range target. - [Sam] With both targets now suppressed. The crew decided it was time to head into the next portion of the live fire. This time engaging the
targets from a dive. As you'll hear on the
comms, the Apache will be using the Hydra rockets to
engage this next target. After going through their
checklist once again and making sure the
target has been verified you'll see the crew push the Apache into a forward dive to
deliver the payload. - [Gunner] Affirm. - [Pilot] Looking good, I'll
wait for these conex in range. Yeah, those are tight. It's a tight shot. (Hydra rockets firing) (rockets firing) Low levels, You guys know by now that this is always my
favorite part of every flight because in this case it's
where we really get to see what the Apache is capable of. As we approach the low level terrain. The Apache broke off, descending down and flying just a few
feet off the tree line. Now from my vantage
point in the Black Hawk this was pretty crazy to see. Once again just watching the ridiculous
maneuverability of the Apache. (upbeat music) So at this point we've seen the live fire we've witnessed the low
level maneuverability and I honestly thought
it was time to head back to base to wrap things up. But no, instead the Apache rejoined alongside us and the crew
radioed in to tell me that they had one final surprise. Only issue was they left
things pretty vague. They said that there was an
empty field just up ahead where I would be dropped off. I was then told to walk to
the dead center of the field put my hands out and wait patiently. Sounds a little weird, right? But when an Apache gunner and pilot tell you to
do something, you do it. So that's exactly what I did. (exciting music) Oh my god. So yeah, that was insane. I've been around a lot of aircraft but the intimidation you
feel when the AH-64 Apache is pointed directly at you
flying just a few feet overhead. It's a feeling unlike anything else. Honestly, this entire
day has been incredible and as we made our way
back to the Black Hawk to return to Fort Rucker all I could do was taking
in the views one final time. Well guys, that was absolutely incredible. I'll be honest, I was a little bummed at first not to be flying
in the Apache with you but honestly the view we were able to get from the Black Hawk was crazy. - Hey, we enjoyed having you. We hoped that the view from the ground as we were doing our
low flyovers look great - It literally felt like
you were about to hit me at some point, so great flying. To everyone watching, I hope
you guys learn something new. Make sure to sign up
for the Flyby newsletter in the description below,
and I think that's a wrap. We'll catch you guys next time.
