Military helicopter

AC-130H Spectre


The Spectre gunship, also referred to as the Combat Talon, was based on the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and was used during the Virtuous Mission to transport Naked Snake and his FOX support team to Tselinoyarsk. It was marked with "000", indicating that the Spectre used during the Virtuous Mission was an experimental aircraft. Because the Virtuous Mission was estimated to be about three hours, and was on a no-support single plane mission, the Combat Talon used during the Virtuous Mission also utilized various highly sophisticated sensors, including weather information. The aircraft is equipped with the Fulton Recovery System which allows personnel to be picked up by the plane, using a balloon attached to them. The Spectre gunship weapon are 105mm cannon that has a high blast radius and can destroy a single tank with a shot, and a 25mm Vulcan Cannon with explosive rounds. It was also installed with a passive thermal night-vision device, to which Sigint remarked during Operation Snake Eater that the United States Military just barely managed to install the device on aircraft by the time of the mission when remarking with surprise that the Soviets actually managed to develop a portable version of the device.

B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, also referred to as the Stealth Bomber, was an American heavy bomber that utilized stealth.

Nearing the end of the Shadow Moses Incident, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman attempted to issue a nuclear strike on the Shadow Moses Island nuclear weapons facility in order to accomplish a coverup, with six F-177A Nighthawks and one B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber undertaking the bombing run. However, the bombing strike orders were cancelled by the Patriots long before they actually arrived at Shadow Moses Island, because Houseman's attempt at covering up the events of the Shadow Moses Incident would have made a complete cover up impossible.

C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four engine turboprop military transport aircraft for transporting troops.

A C-130 Hercules was used to carry Snake into Zanzibar Land and have him HAHO Jump into the enemy nation to retrieve Dr. Kio Marv and his formula. Zanzibar Land also used various C-130 Hercules in its arsenal.

C-141 Starlifter
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the United States Air Force.

Big Boss arrived back in America in a Starlifter shortly after the events of the San Hieronymo Takeover, after he effectively cleared his name by demolishing both Metal Gear RAXA and the ICBMG, as well as stopped Gene's attempt at launching the latter weapon at Virginia, USA.

C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy was a large military transport aircraft designed to provide strategic heavy airlift over intercontinental distances as well as carry outsize and oversize cargo. It was among the largest aircraft of the world and has been in the service of the United States Air Force since 1969.

The C-5 Galaxy has not made an appearance in the Metal Gear series proper, but it was mentioned in the game Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (known in the United States as Metal Gear Solid) where a C-5 Galaxy transport plane containing nukes and Metal Gear GANDER was captured by Black Chamber under orders from the Gindra Liberation Force while en-route to South America for testing.



E-3 AWACS
AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) was an airborne radar system designed to detect aircraft. Jim Houseman was on board an AWACS plane when he ordered the destruction of Shadow Moses by nuclear weapons.

F-16C Fighting Falcon


First flown in 1974, the F-16 is the backbone of the US Air Force. During the beginning of Solid Snake's infiltration mission of Shadow Moses Island, the US Air Force sent in two F-16 fighter jets from Galena AFB as a diversionary tactic. The plan was to begin the infiltration while the terrorists had their eyes on the F-16s. The diversion proved to be effective, as Liquid Snake departed to engage them in a Hind-D. Incredibly, he was able to shoot them both down with the Hind. After shooting them down, Liquid contacted the Government and warned them that, should they try to pull a similar stunt like that again, he will launch the nuke.

F-117A Nighthawk
The world's first operational stealth aircraft, the F-117 was developed to evade Soviet air defenses using radar absorbant material, and has become the pioneer in aviation stealth technology. Six were deployed, along with one B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, to destroy Shadow Moses Island and any incriminating evidence concerning the development of Metal Gear REX and the Genome Army. However, the airstrike was called off by Roy Campbell, who had the secretary of defense Jim Houseman placed under arrest.

M-21


Based on the A-12 'Oxcart' that would later become SR-71 Blackbird, the M-21 was designed by Lockheed Martin Skunkworks as a reconnaissance aircraft for the CIA. It could fly at Mach 3+, making it much faster than any aircraft or missiles that may be used to intercept it.

The aircraft was used to transport a D-21 reconnaissance drone, modified to carry a passenger, into Tselinoyarsk, during Operation Snake Eater. The drone was used to insert Naked Snake into the area, due to heightened security. It was rigged to self destruct when the enemy is near, although it was also deliberately given American symbols to ensure that the Russians at least know that an American is involved in Operation Snake Eater as part of the negotiations with Khrushchev. After landing and finding out about its origins, Naked Snake also suggested that future designs of the D-21 pilot model fix certain errors, as potential pilots could get killed using the drone in its current state.

MiG-21 Fishbed


Used to control the airspace over Tselinoyarsk, Naked Snake needed to avoid several MiGs with the D-21 drone at the beginning of Operation Snake Eater. In Snake's battle with The Boss MiGs were ordered to bomb the area giving her and Snake limited time in which to fight. Later, when he and EVA were making their escape, a couple of MiGs threatened to shoot them down but Nikita Khrushchev called them off. The pilots wear pressurized suits so they can survive flying in the high atmosphere.

Bartini Beriev VVA-14 (WIG)


WIG stands for "Wing In Ground effect" and is used to describe a phenomenon whereby an aircraft flying extremely low to the ground generates an air cushion beneath its wings, which can be used as a method of sustaining flight; this type of aircraft is known in Russia as an Ekranoplan. The Bartini Beriev VVA-14 Vertikal`no-Vzletayuschaya Amphibia (Vertical Take-off Amphibious Aircraft") was a Soviet project aimed at producing an amphibious aircraft able to engage and destroy American Polaris missile submarines, which produced two prototypes between 1972 and 1987, when the remaining prototype was retired. Despite being designed for vertical takeoff, the fan allowing this was never fitted to either prototype.

The VVA-14 was another of the advanced vehicle projects that GRU Colonel Volgin carried to completion much earlier than expected, using the massive funding of the Philosophers' Legacy. A number were seen on the main runway of Groznyj Grad (with at least one being destroyed by Colonel Volgin piloting the Shagohod) and one was later used by EVA and Naked Snake to make their escape from Tselinoyask. The one EVA used was a prototype supplied to GRU, and it also had no weapons systems installed yet.

Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker
The Sukhoi Su-27, known by their NATO reporting name as "Flankers", was a fighter jet originally designed by the Soviet Union and was a mainstay in the Russian Federation's Air Force.

Zanzibar Land utilized Flankers as part of their Strategic Air Force's fighter division.

A fighter resembling a Flanker was seen in a montage accompanying Gene's speech shortly before driving his men into a mass-riot-suicide.

YAH-56


The YAH-56A Cheyenne was an American prototype attack helicopter originally intended to replace the AH-1 Cobra. It was originally designed as an armed escort for transport helicopters such as the UH-1D Iroquois. However, it failed to get beyond the test production stages, as intelligence revealed the Soviets had already developed anti-aircraft weapons that would counter its high-speed dive attack profile. The AH-64 Apache was developed after the cancellation of the YAH-56.

The Peace Sentinels somehow managed to procure some YAH-56A helicopters, prior to the 1974 Peace Walker Incident, which came in two variants: a bomber variant and a raider variant. The bomber variant, as the name implies, utilizes iron bombs (presumably of the Mark 81 variety) in bombing runs. The raider variant was developed as a means of destroying tanks, and are designed to utilize anti-tank missiles that can be fired from long distances, to the extent that it could be compared to an extremely powerful flying tank. The Militaires Sans Frontieres also stole some of these helicopters (both original and custom-designed) from the Peace Sentinels and added them to their expanding resources.

Boeing AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a twin engined, two-seat attack helicopter adopted by the US Army in 1984; a distinctive machine with a four-bladed main rotor and tailwheel undercarriage.

UH-1D/H Iroquois
The UH-1 Iroquois, nicknamed Huey, was a United States Army helicopter developed during the Cold War to replace the UH-34 Choctaw, and is one of the most successful helicopter designs in history. The Huey is tough, reliable, and sturdy; in other words, everything a US military aircraft is expected to be. It saw extensive use during the Vietnam War and remained the Army's standard transport/utility helicopter until it was replaced by the UH-60 Blackhawk in the mid-1980s. The UH-1 remains in service with the Marines, who recently developed the UH-1Y variant. Retired military UH-1s, as well as purpose-built civilian models, are used extensively in America and around the world for firefighting, medical evacuation, law enforcement, construction, VIP transport, and general utility purposes.

The Militaires Sans Frontieres used several Hueys during the Peace Walker Incident. The helicopters were modified to include a recovery hook for transporting MSF recruits back to Mother Base, via the Fulton Surface-to-air Recovery System. Multiple personnel recoveries during operations, and the greater exposure to enemy fire during landings, necessitated the use of the modified Hueys. Its relatively low running costs and quick response time, compared with other aicraft of the time, were also contributing factors in the MSF's choice of helicopter. At least one of the Hueys were given to the Militaires Sans Frontieres along with its Mother Base by Galvez/the Costa Rican government as downpayment for hiring them.

A Huey helicopter was briefly seen in the montage accompanying Gene's speech shortly before driving his own men to mass-riot-suicide.

Gyrocopters
Gyrocopters, also known as the Autogyro, are helicopters that are operated by the pilot pedaling to operate the rotor blades.

Although never actually seen in the Metal Gear series proper, the non-canon game Snake's Revenge does have various enemy soldiers using gyrocopters to scout for enemies around the Jungle area at the beginning of the game.

Hind helicopters

 * For the full article, see Hind

Hind A prototypes were utilized by GRU forces around Tselinoyarsk in both the Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater.

Hind As were frequently used by Soviet and FOX soldiers during the San Hieronymo Peninsula.

Hind As and Hind Ds were utilized by the Peace Sentinels, to which several were captured by the Militaires Sans Frontieres private military grouo led by Big Boss.

Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land utilized Hind Ds.

While infiltrating Shadow Moses Island during the FOXHOUND revolt of 2005, Solid Snake did battle with a Hind D, piloted by his own brother, Liquid Snake, and a Genome Soldier. Earlier, Liquid Snake had used the Hind D to shoot down two F-16s. Snake was able to destroy the Hind and seemingly kill Liquid in the process, yet later, upon discovering a parachute hanging from a nearby tree, it was evident that Liquid had survived the crash.

Havoc
The Mil Mi-28, also known by its NATO reporting name Havoc, was a Russian all-weather day-night tandem two-seat anti-armor attack helicopter. It was made after testing the Hind in 1972 and filled out the attack chopper role perfectly without any secondary transport duties, making it the Russian's first pure attack chopper.

The Havoc hasn't made an appearance in the Metal Gear'' series proper. However, it did appear in the game Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (known in the United States as Metal Gear Solid) as a chopper utilized by both the Gindra Liberation Front and the Black Chamber. The former was utilized by Sophie N'dram to attack Snake, the latter of whom also confused her with Chris Jenner due to a passing resemblance. The latter was utilized earlier by Black Chamber leader Black Arts Viper in order to distract Snake long enough to allow Metal Gear GANDER to launch a nuke via one of its railguns.''

Sikorsky helicopters

 * For the full article, see Gigant
 * For the full article, see HH-64 Dragoon



The Gigant, a modified Sikorsky-type helicopter, was developed in Zanzibar Land for the purpose of airlifting Metal Gear D into battle.

The Sikorsky HH-64 Dragoon, was used in Zanzibar Land, during Operation Intrude F014, for the extraction of Solid Snake and Holly White.

The HH-60 Seahawk was used by the U.S. Navy to transport the SEAL Teams to the Big Shell during the Manhattan Incident. Both helicopters however, were shot down by a Harrier controlled by the terrorists and ended up 'in the bottom of the harbor," as the Colonel put it.

Helicopters in use circa 2014


At least four distinct types of helicopters were used during Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection. These include helicopters used by the U.S. military forces and Philanthropy, which appears to be fusions of the UH-60 Blackhawk forward fuselage with the Kamov Ka-50 (and its variants) for the coaxial rotor and tail. One of these helicopters was in use by Roy Campbell when picking Snake up so he can brief him on the location of Liquid Ocelot. In addition, three of these same helicopter types were used by the joint Army/Marines task force led by Meryl in an attempt to apprehend Liquid at Eastern Europe, although Liquid managed to use his newly hijacked control over SOP to "shoot down" two of the choppers by deactivating them. Another type is the McDonnel Douglas MD902 Explorer used by Philanthropy (As evidenced by the markings on the fueslage, which is a NOTAR (No-Tail-Rotor) design. This was used by Otacon to insert Snake and the Mk.III at Shadow Moses Island.

Multiple Explorers were seen operating near the Missouri during the assault on Outer Haven, presumbaly by Philanthropy crews, as the MD902 has never been operated by the US Military. (However, it was evaluated by the US Coast Gaurd as the MH-90 Enforcer for use in drug interdiction from 1998 to 2000. It however lost to the MH-68 Stingray (Augusta A109 Power in civilian trim) which ultimately was replaced by the MH-65C Dolphin. Assuming these were being operated by Philanthropy, it would go far as to show Philanthropy's true size and capability aside from just Otacon and Snake.

A third, operated by Liquid Ocelot's PMC forces, appears to be a hybrid of the Super Stallion and Chinook. Liquid Ocelot boarded this helicopter shortly after the disasterous results of the Middle Eastern test. Another chopper, perhaps the same one, was later used to retrieve Naomi Hunter, although she managed to escape during takeoff during the confusion resulting from the failed hijacking of the system with Solid Snake's DNA.

The fourth type are hybrid fixed/rotary wing gunships used by the PMCs, which have a large two-blade rotor capable of being locked in place and used as a wing surface for high-speed flight. During the insurrection, they were mostly seen in helicopter configuration, though a few in jet configuration were seen in the Middle East. They are based on the Boeing X-50 Dragonfly, a failed project aimed at producing a helicopter that could transition to fixed-wing flight in mid air which was cancelled in 2006.