Helicopter Gunship (Civ5)/Civilopedia

Helicopters saw limited use as transport vehicles in the Korean war. During the Vietnam war the US Army decided to create a more heavily armed and armored chopper designed specifically for combat. Since that period, the helicopter gunship has evolved primarily into a tank-killing machine. Able to fly extremely close to the ground, "pop up" for a quick shot and then scoot away at low levels before the enemy armor could respond, helicopters were almost unstoppable except by air power until the creation of handheld "suitcase" surface-to-air missiles like the ones the Mujahideen used against the Soviet choppers in Afghanistan. Modern combat helicopters perform other functions, like close air support for infantry units or rapid transport for special ops teams, but their primary mission remains killing tanks.