AH-72 Comanchero

## AH-72A Comanchero

The **AH-72A Comanchero** is a conventional helicopter gunship used by the UEDF.

## Background

The Comanchero first entered service in the lead-up to the Global Civil War, with what was then the United States Army. A radical shift from previous American gunship design philosophy, the Comanchero emphasised sheer firepower over everything else, making it a rather large and bulky design. That was not to say that it was lacking by any means, as its quad engines gave it an impressive top speed and mobility. Its armament was equally impressive, and far greater than previous gunships.

The helicopter was sold widely to a number of US allies and saw active service in the Global Civil War. It saw heavy action in Europe and the Middle East, as well as in the chaotic breakdown of the western United States where it was used against white nationalist militias and other groups. During the conflict, the Comanchero proved to be a powerful and versatile platform that was capable of handling a wide variety of threats.

It was due to this performance that the Comanchero was selected by the UEDF for use with their forces as their standard helicopter gunship. Besides being a proven design, the UEDF felt that a helicopter gunship would come the closest to matching their estimates of the capabilities of alien Mecha outside of developing their own humanoid weapons platforms. Compared to other craft such as the F-203 Dragon II, the UEDF did little to upgrade the Comanchero save for the addition of new weapons systems.

Like many other UEDF platofrms, the Comanchero saw action against the Anti-Unification League in various conflicts across the world. In those actions, it gave excellent service as both an anti-armour and counter-insurgency platform, and proved to be more than a match for most of the AUL's ground-based weapons systems. While its closest rival in the AUL's inventory was the RK-14 Flying Lynx, there were also recorded incidents of the Comanchero facing the APA-001 Yellowjacket in air-to-air combat.

As with many other UEDF platforms, the majority of Comancheros were destroyed on the ground during the First Robotech War without ever having fired a shot in the conflict. Following the Rain of Death, the Comanchero proliferated rapidly through pre-war salvage and new production. It was a popular weapon system for the early Army of the Southern Cross, and was used extensively by them against Zentraedi Malcontents in South America. It saw use in a number of different theatres and conflicts, including being employed in General Zhu's abortive coup in the Africa Quadrant.

By the 2020s, the Comanchero was seen as being technologically obsolete; however, it survived in the Tactical Corps inventory for longer than it should have due to a lack of replacement. It was not until the development of the VFH-10 AGAC that they had a viable new gunship platform, and even then, it failed to reach active service in that role due to a variety of reasons. Those Comancheros in service with various minor powers would continue to see use in various brushfire conflicts during the 2020s.

Most sources agree that all existing Comancheros were destroyed either during the Invid Invasion or on the orders of collaborator authorities. However, some unsubstantiated sources claim that examples of the gunship were used by resistance groups during the Occupation.

## Capabilities

Eschewing the trend towards smaller and lighter helicopters, the Comanchero was a heavily armed and armoured platform that had more in common with Soviet design trends than anything else. While seen as overkill during the design phase, its four engines gave it a top speed and rate of climb well above that of any contemporary helicopters. While it was a large target, the Comanchero's speed more than made up for that, often allowing it to strike and withdraw before defenders could react. However, this capability still proved to be inadequate against Zentraedi Mecha armed with advanced weaponry.

The Comanchero had a crew of two; one pilot and one gunner, who were seated in separate 'stepped' cockpits. In order to support its weapons, the Comanchero was equipped with an extensive electronics suite for a helicopter gunship. Its fit included a millimeter-wave radar for battlefield detection and surveillance, backed up by infrared imagers and night vision optics, as well as a laser designator. The Comanchero featured both forward-mounted and mast-mounted sensors for improved targeting capabilities. The communications equipment on board the Comanchero was conventional, but UEDF examples received a number of upgrades during their service lives.

The skin of the Comanchero is composed of treated steel plate. The armored skin stops all small arms fire, provides good protection against heavier infantry weapons, such as a 12.7mm machinegun round, and fair resistance to light mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Zentraedi 22.3mm HE autocannon round.

## Weapons and Equipment

* **32mm autocannon**: fires APHE (Armor Piercing High Explosive) and HEI-T (High Explosive Incendiary with Tracer) rounds. Maximum rate of fire 850 rounds/minute. Ammunition supply 500 rounds, maximum effective range 3500 meter. The weapon is located in the left side hull sponson, and is in a fixed-forward fire position.

* **M-89 triple barreled 12.7mm machinegun:** firing standard and tracer rounds at 1800 rounds/minute. Ammunition supply of 2000 rounds. Weapon is mounted in the right side hull sponson, on a traversible mount.

* 6 Hardpoints under the wings for gunpods, fuel tanks and missiles. Most common load is a missile pod with 10 short range (9km) variable warhead, combined infra-red imager and active radar homing guided **Brimstone** anti-armor missiles.

## Game Statistics

* **Required Rank:** 1

* **Designation:** AH-72A

* **Stats**
	+ **Armour – Light:** 4
	+ **Structure – Light:** 15
	+ **Hardware Points**: Basic
	+ **Speed** – **Flight:** 400 kph / 600 m / 60 Ground Units

### Weapons

* **Autocannon:** The Comanchero is armed with a 32mm Autocannon in the right side of the nose. This weapon fires heavy shells and is designed for use against ground targets. It inflicts x5 Light damage to targets and has a range of Long. [L1][H]

* **Machine Gun:** The Comanchero is equipped with a Machine Gun mounted on the left side of the nose for use against enemy personell. A Machine Gun ignores 2 armour against light targets and inflict 2x light damage. [H][P2]

* **Mini-Missiles:** The Comanchero carries Mini-Missiles under its wings for use against enemy ground targets. This weapon can only be used through an Equipment Suite [H]

* **No Melee:** The Comanchero cannot engage in melee except to make Ramming attacks.

### Features

* **Hover:** As a helicopter, the Comanchero is able to hover or travel at speeds that would stall fixed-wing aerial craft.

* **Crew:** The Comanchero has a crew of 2: 1 pilot and 1 gunner. If one crew is missing or injured, then it may still operate but will take penalties to maneuvering and sensor skill rolls.

* **Atmosphere Only:** The Comanchero can only be used in an Earth-like atmosphere.

### Equipment Suites

* **Mini-Missiles:** The Comanchero mounts a half-dozen missile pods under the wings that can unleash a torrent of missiles on their victims. They can be used up to Medium range. These weapons inflict Mecha-class damage. [B3]
	+ **Uses:** 4
	+ **Skill:** 3

* **Maximum Overkill:** Once per Encounter the Comanchero may simply unload its entire Mini-Missile suite on a single target. [B3]
	+ **Uses:** 1 + 3 Uses of the Mini-Missiles Equipment Suite
	+ **Skill:** 5

## Notes

* Design Notes
* Image Gallery