Peace Mission 2005

isthvan said:

Extraction and medivac aren't by no way overplayed. Range can be extended with air refueling and ground fire vulnerability is overrated (transport choppers don't work alone, they are covered by fighters, gunships, and your one ground forces). Plus level of tactical flexibility provided by usage of helicopters is still unmatched by any other way of transport...




Yes Crete is great example; no significant armor opposition, demoralized opponent and so high casualties among invading forces that Germans stopped conducting airborne operations after Crete...




Paratroopers are elite in any army and many will die but task is to hold ground for limited amount of time until main force can arrive and nothing more... Plus if you have option to use choppers why would you use para drop?





And Hannibal proved great level of tactical mobility using elephants. That doesn't mean that for modern warfare there aren't better way to provide mobility to your troops.





HALO - high altitude jump,low altitude opening of parachute

HAHO-high altitude jump, high altitude opening

Click to expand...

I fear Isthvan that the Merkur operation was in no way the death of the german FSchJgr but the ongoing of the war. Plus why are you saying that the British had no armour. Basically they had enough fire power to damage heavily the gliders. So that the germans turned then to "grape dropping".

Actually to extend the range of your MEdEVac you have to maintain quite a chain of logistics that is already a heavier price to pay for basically the same result.

I fully disagree with the logics of excessive loss and scattering of the troops. Basically because of the AirMech concept. Either way an Helicopter Insertion, relies on a permanent control of the air space, in other words Air superiority.
Plus there are enough RFID and GPS/Glonass applications to ensure a proper landing on an adequately marked LZ.

Plus people we're on the 21st Century a good ABRN force has already the punch to keep fighting for months (in the case of an independent corps).

But We're loosing the focus of the discussion here. An Airborne operation will always be a spearhead or a tactical developpement to the broader attack, I can hardly see may that be Helicopter insertions or en masse droppings the idea of a "full moon" as a viable war winning tactic.

Think of the air borne as the "guerilla" wing of the PLA. Soviet desantniks were indeed often dropped to stir the famous "partizan divisions".

Be imaginative.

Now fighting back after a crash landing? Against an Army! I'm not speaking against tit bit militias I'm talking about the US 101th birds getting shot by an armed force (I didn't said the IRnA :coffee: ) and the crews attempting to salvage them selves from the grip of an average fighting force.