cool!
i remember seeing a plane with a flat baluku on top.a rather big one.
now they have it on helicopters!
That would be an AWACS, for 'Airborne Warning and Control System'. The more recognisable ones are the American
E-3 Sentry and
E-2 Hawkeye (carrier borne), and the Russian
A-50 Mainstay
i have a relative who's a pilot in RSAF.
he once told me helis are sitting ducks when they meet fighter planes.
Modern military doctrine really doesn't see the use of helicopter against jet-propelled attack aircraft anymore. Common attack strategy is to use precision weaponry to eliminate air power
on the ground. What this means is the use of laser guided and/or long range weaponry (laser guided gravity bombs and cruise missiles) to destroy air bases, particularly the runways, delivered in surprise attacks by ships or bombers outside the target's airspace, or by stealth bombers, or bombers flying inside the target's airspace using stealth techniques (flying below radar for instance). Only when this is done and enemy air power is decimated will helicopters be sent in
along with ground forces to eliminate ground threats. When this is happening, jet propelled aircraft are still used, except with ground-attack configuration, and less in air-to-air configuration. There is very little chance of a scenario where helicopters are pitted against jet attack aircraft.
To put it simply, the only time you'll see Singapore AH-64Ds in action against jet aircraft is when our country is already on the verge of being completely taken over. I don't think any of our generals really think 8 Apaches will do nuts against just about any real threat in Asia, not when Malaysia has MiG-29s and is thinking of getting SU-30MKMs. Not when our fleet consists second hand 70s-era planes like the F-5, F-16, and even the F-15. The purchases of all these American aircraft is very much more of a 'you rub my back and I'll rub yours' sort of deal, in my opinion. We pump some money into the American aeronautical industry so we can count on them if we're attacked.
EDIT: Did I mention Malaysia's F-18D Hornet? LOL