Insurgents in Iraq have brought down U.S. helicopters by prompting the aircrafts to engage in low-level attacks and then ambushing them with massive small arms fire, according to a retired aviator and an administration official.
Downing eight helicopters in the past month exemplifies that al-Qaidain Iraq and other enemy groups have adapted to a change in American procedures. The Army is reviewing all if its aviation tactics.
During the past two years, the command has gone to fewer ground convoys and to increased air transport on the theory that there would be a smaller number of targets for roadside improvised explosive devices. But now the insurgents have adjusted by targeting helicopters more often.
“If you start knocking down helicopters, that is a huge problem for us,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, an author and military analyst. Army helicopters have gone from flying 240,000 hours in 2005 to a projected 400,000 this year.
In at least one case, a shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missile downed a Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight in al-Anbar province on Feb. 7.
The other losses, such as Wednesday’s strike on a UH-60 Black Hawk, were due to small arms fire, including massive bursts from machine guns. The total losses to date: three Black Hawks, two Apaches, one Marine Sea Knight, and two civilian helicopters.
A senior administration official who has seen recent intelligence reports said there has been a slight increase in shoulder-fired missiles leaking across the Iranian border. The source said they were produced in China, Iran and Russia.
This source, and McInerney, who was briefed by the military, said insurgents have used tactics to bring helicopters to an altitude where machine–gun fire can reach them. “Use the word ambush,” he said.
All but one of the eight shootdowns in Iraq have happened in Sunni territory where al-Qaida in Iraq operates.
“We are engaged with a thinking enemy,” Maj. Gen. James Simmons, deputy commander for support, told reporters in Baghdad. “They understand the strategic implications of shooting down an aircraft.”
McInerney said the coalition seized seven SA-7s, a less–advanced weapon because countermeasures can fool it, in a recent raid north of Baghdad. The military has also confiscated SA-14s and SA-16s that can defeat defensive chaff and decoys released by aircraft.
Retired Brig. Gen. Sam Cockerham, formerly the top Army aviation officer in Vietnam, said insurgents study the travel paths of helicopters. When a route becomes predictable, they set an ambush.
“Every mission has got to have current intelligence,” he said. “You need a phone call that tells you that route is not hot. It is clear.”
