Armed helicopter An armed helicopter is a helicopter equipped with weapons . Most commonly , it is used for attacking targets on the ground . Such a helicopter could be either purposely designed for a ground - attack mission — in which case it would be more specifically categorized as an attack helicopter — or may have been previously designed for other uses , such as utility , cargo , reconnaissance , etc . , with the weapons mounts being modifications , rather than part of the design of the helicopter . The purpose of the modification to an armed helicopter configuration can be field expediency during combat , the lack of military funding to develop or purchase attack helicopters , or the need to maintain the helicopter for missions that do not require the weapons . Specialized armed helicopters fly from ships at sea , and are equipped for antisubmarine warfare or strikes with anti - shipping missile s . History . Direct fire support delivered by weapons mounted on helicopters began informally in the Korean War , with United States Marines firing their weapons from the open doors of the aircraft , into the treeline of the landing area below . The concept evolved with the French during the Algerian and the First Indochina wars , in the form of " armed helicopters " ; where utility , cargo , and observation military helicopters were modified to carry various weapons . Algerian War . The French Army was one of the first military forces to modify and use helicopters in combat in a ground attack role during the Algerian War of 1954 - 62 . In 1955 , French field commanders placed infantry machine gunners in the stretcher panniers of their Bell 47 " ( Sioux H - 13 ) " casualty evacuation helicopters . The ad hoc gunship s were used to reach FLN guerrilla positions on otherwise inaccessible mountain ridges and peaks , but were far too underpowered . In 1956 , the French Air Force experimented with arming the Sikorsky S - 55 , then being superseded in service by the more capable Piasecki H - 21 and Sikorsky CH - 34 helicopters . The H - 19 was originally fitted with two rocket launchers and an ex - Luftwaffe MG151 / 20 20 - mm cannon , both mounted axially on the outside of the aircraft . Later , an MG151 / 20 cannon , two . 50 cal . ( 12 . 7 - mm ) Browning machine guns , and an FN Browning 7 . 5 - mm light machine gun were mounted inside the fuselage at the cabin windows , but this load proved far too heavy , and even more lightly armed H - 19 gunships proved underpowered . Some Piasecki H - 21 helicopters were armed with fixed , forward - firing rockets and machine guns and a few even had racks for bombs , but the H - 21 lacked the maneuverability and performance needed for offensive action . Most H - 21s in service were eventually fitted with a single door - mounted 12 . 7 mm machine gun or an MG151 / 20 20 - mm cannon as defensive armament . The Sikorsky H - 34 was also modified into a gunship by the French Navy : standard armament comprised an MG 151 20 - mm cannon firing from the cabin door , two 12 . 7 - mm machine guns firing from the cabin windows to port , plus racks for 37 mm or 68 mm rockets . While the CH - 34 was effective in the ground attack role , official evaluations at the time indicated that the CH - 21 was more likely to survive multiple hits by ground fire than was the CH - 34 ; this was assumed to be a consequence of the location and construction of the CH - 34 ' s fuel tanks . Nevertheless , by the close of the Algerian War , attack helicopters such as the CH - 34 were being used in synchronized operations with troop - carrying CH - 21 helicopters in large - scale counterinsurgency operations . Vietnam War . The United States Navy and the United Kingdom began modifying existing helicopters as anti - submarine weapon s ( ASW ) platforms , carrying depth bombs and Magnetic Anomaly Detector gear . After learning of French Army experiments , there was a movement within the U . S . Army to arm helicopters . Under the leadership of Colonel Jay Vanderpool , the U . S . Army modified Sikorsky and other larger helicopters with fixed and flexible - mount machine guns , rockets , and cannon . While Col . Vanderpool was ridiculed by some in the Army , others saw his efforts as a great aid to ground troops . At the time , the Army leadership felt that the U . S . Air Force was not doing enough to support ground forces , and due to the Key West Agreement , the Army could not field its own ground attack fixed - wing aircraft . With the increasing use of the helicopter for infantry transport , the U . S . Army saw a need for specialized helicopters to be used as aerial artillery to provide fire suppression and ground support close to the battle . The first United States use of the armed helicopter in large - scale combat operations was during the Vietnam War . First the U . S . Army modified UH - 1B ' Huey ' helicopters , mounting machine guns and Folding Fin Aerial Rockets ( FFAR ) on struts parallel with the fuselage . Eventually , the U . S . Army would upgrade the engine and rotor to the UH - 1C model , and again to the UH - 1M model , to overcome power issues as more and more armament was added to the helicopters . But this was not fully satisfactory , so the AH - 1 helicopter was developed . Warsaw Pact . During the 1960s , the Soviet Union saw the need for an armed helicopter and equipped Mil Mi - 8 helicopters with rocket pods . This armed helicopter eventually developed into the Mil Mi - 24 , which saw extensive action in Afghanistan during the 80s . Mi - 24s were also exported in large numbers to many Asian and African countries . Special operations variants . In the last 20 years US Special Operations Command has been developing the special forces gunship , using the MH - 60 . These helicopters are to be used as an attack element with special operators to do the clean up , or to deliver the operators and support them on the ground . They were used successfully during the Scud Hunt . Other Army Special Operations include the MH - 6 and AH - 6 " Little Birds " . The MH - 6 carries special operators on benches outside the helicopters , from which they can move quickly . The AH - 6 is for close air support . The MH - 47 Chinook helicopter has been used to carry special operators using long - wheelbase Land Rovers and other vehicles in and out of an area of operations . For longer - range special operations , the Air Force had operated the MH - 53 Pave Low helicopter with extensive avionics for navigation , flying at very low altitude , and electronic warfare . However the Pave Lows were retired at the end of September 2008 , and the role is now being performed by Air Force CV - 22 Osprey s . Helicopters used for bombing . The idea of the helicopter as a bomber has likely been around since helicopters first came into military service . The helicopter offers what might appear to be a highly stable bombing platform , making the idea all the more attractive . The idea is generally used by air forces conducting counterinsurgencies , and often by those lacking traditional fixed wing options . Helicopter bombing in Vietnam . Likely the first organized usage of a helicopter as a tactical bomber , the United States Army employed the UH - 1 Iroquois , CH - 47 Chinook , and CH - 54 Tarhe helicopters . The US Army had already conducted tests using the OH - 13 Sioux fitted with small napalm tanks . The CH - 47 was used most often to assist in the clearing of bunkers , using an improvised bomb made from 55 - gallon drums of bulk CS powder , designated " Bomb , Fuze , and Burster , CS in 55 - gallon Drum , XM920 " . Thirty of these bombs , containing eighty pounds of CS powder , could be carried by a CH - 47 , and were used to " saturate base camps , way stations , or infiltration routes to deny their use . " The US Army used the UH - 1 with a far wider array of systems . Using the M156 Universal Mount , conventional aircraft dispensers for cluster munitions and mines were fitted . Another system developed was the Mortar Aerial Delivery System or MADS . This system used standard 60mm or 81mm mortar rounds in dispensers mounted on the side of the aircraft , and was to be used against both preplanned targets and targets of opportunity . Pictures show this system in use as late as 1969 . Even improvised bombs , made from things such as a " can of engine oil . . . [ and ] a thermite grenade " or " four or five concussion grenades . . . [ with ] belted M - 60 ammunition around the grenades " were used . The US Army also conducted a number of drops of large bombs using the CH - 54 helicopter for the purposes of clearing landing zones . Operational drops were conducted using both modified M121 10 , 000 lb bombs and the BLU - 82 / B 15 , 000 lb bomb . Tests conducted prior to the deployment of weapons and equipment for Operation Combat Trap led to discontinued use of the CH - 54 and a switch to the C - 130E ( I ) aircraft ( later MC - 130E ) . Both the US Army and US Marine Corps also investigated using the AH - 1 Cobra attack helicopter as a bomber . The Army tested a dispenser system that could be used to drop smoke grenades , while the USMC went further and qualified the aircraft to carry the CBU - 55 / B Fuel Air Explosive . While the USMC continued to qualify their subsequent AH - 1 variants for the CBU - 55 / B weapon , there are no reports of it actually being used in combat . Helicopter bombing in El Salvador . El Salvador during their conflict with FMLN and other guerrillas between 1980 and 1992 , made use of UH - 1 Iroquois in the bombing role . UH - 1Hs and UH - 1Ms flew punitive strikes against villages linked to the FMLN dropping 250 and 500 pound bombs . The need for this greater flexibility was required by the nature of the conflict and the lack of resources available to the Salvadoran Air Force . Since the bombs utilized used the same type of mounting hardware as the standard rocket launchers , the FAS used M156 universal mounts and essentially unmodified aircraft . Helicopter bombing in Lebanon . Helicopter bombing was used by the Lebanese Army during the 2007 Siege of Nahr al - Bared when it converted UH - 1H utility helicopters into bombers due to the urgent need to fight the Fatah al - Islam terrorist group . They mounted 30 - year - old 500 lb ( 250 kg ) Mark 82 bomb s , originally carried by Hawker Hunter attack aircraft . Tests and evaluations . Other nations have also made moves toward helicopter bombing , but have not put it into practice . The Soviet Union qualified both the Mil Mi - 8 and Mil Mi - 24 to use members of the FAB general purpose bomb family . It is possible these aircraft may have been put into service in this role by the armed forces of Sudan and Sri Lanka . The Philippines also tested a single Sikorsky H - 34 as an attack helicopter , armed with both rockets and bombs on locally fabricated racks . This aircraft appears to have been the extent of the testing , and the Philippines did not introduce any H - 34s in this capacity .