Changing Roles: Attack Helicopters as the Dominant Maneuver Force

Abstract : Joint Vision 2010 established the warfighting concepts which the military services will use to organize, train, and equip their forces to tight in the future joint environment. As well as exploiting new technologies to develop enhanced systems, the services will need to evaluate current equipment and doctrine for relevance in support of joint Vision 2010. One concept of the vision is dominant maneuver. This paper examines the capability of attack helicopter forces to assume the role of the tank in supporting dominant maneuver. With the introduction of the Longbow Apache and development of the Comanche, the U.S. Army has leveraged technology to produce attack helicopters that meet the demands of dominant maneuver. With sophisticated sensors, heavy firepower, and digitized electronics, the modern attack helicopter has both the combat power and survivability needed to strike at an enemy's center of gravity and decisive points. Future joint force commanders may rely on attack helicopters as their premier maneuver element. The Army should pursue these capabilities and evaluate reorganization around these units.