Armor Militant AH-88 Wasp

The Armor Militant AH-88 Wasp is a dual rotor attack helicopter with tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and tandem cockpit for a crew of two. The AH-88 features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. The Wasp is armed with a 30-millimeter (1.2 in) M230 Chain Gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage. It has four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The Union of Everett Ground Forces and part of the Air Force will be the main operators of the AH-88. The AH-88 was recently released to the military as of 2011 and will complement the Boeing AH-64 Apache and replace the Bell AH-1 Cobra. It may also be made available to Security Alliance nations to replace the Israeli Air Force AH-1 Cobras and provide new attack systems for Iraqistan's Air Forces. The AH-88 will eventually replace the AH-64 Apache.

Design
The Wasp features a unique dual rotor system, similar to the CV-22 Osprey, which can tilt, providing boosted speeds up to 250 miles per hour and possesses no tail rotors. The crew sits in tandem, with the pilot sitting behind and above the copilot/gunner. The crew compartment and fuel tanks are armored such that the aircraft will remain flyable even after sustaining hits from 23-millimeter gunfire. The AH-88 is powered by two General Electric T800 hydrogen turboshaft engines with high-mounted water exhausts on side and rear of the fuselage and a backup system using fusion cell power. The AH-88 is designed to endure front-line environments and to operate during the day or night and in adverse weather using avionics, such as the Arrowhead (MTADS), passive infrared countermeasures, GPS, and the IHADSS.

The AH-88 is adaptable to numerous different roles within its context as Close Combat Attack (CCA), and has a customizable weapons loadout for the role desired. In addition to the 30-mm M230E1 Chain Gun, the Wasp carries a range of external stores on its stub-wing pylons, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles, and Hydra 70 general-purpose unguided 70 mm rockets. The Stinger and AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and the AGM-122 Sidearm anti-radiation missiles can also be utilized.