Military helicopter

F-16 Fighting Falcon
First flown in 1974, the F-16 is the backbone of the U.S. Air Force. During the beginning of Solid Snake's infiltration mission of Shadow Moses Island, the U.S. military sends in two F-16 fighters from Galena AFB as a diversionary tactic. The plan is to begin the infiltration while the terrorists have 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.

F-117 Nighthawk
The world's first operational stealth warplane, the F-117 was developed to evade Soviet air defenses using radar absorbant material, and has become the pioneer in aviation stealth technology. Several were deployed, along with 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.



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.



AC-130H Spectre/MC-130 Combat Talon
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. 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.

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.

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.

A VVA-14 aircraft 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.

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.

UH-1D Iroquois
The UH-1D Iroquois,' nicknamed Huey, was a United States Army Helicopter developed during the Cold War, although it saw extensive use during the Vietnam War.

The Militaires Sans Frontieres used these Helicopters during Operation Peace Walker. The Hueys were modified to include a recovery hook to carry fulton recovered recruits back to Mother Base. According to Miller, they had to modify the Huey for this purpose for a few reasons: The first reason is, as Snake is most likely going to be calling for recoveries repeatedly throughout the mission, the Huey would have an increased risk of taking enemy fire if they simply landed and directly took people aboard the Hueys, so they need to cut down the risk to a bare minimum by doing a high-speed fly-by, hence the Fulton Surface-to-air Recovery System's importance. Secondly, and pretty much the real reason, Helicopters are cheaper, especially when it comes to repair bills, as they will start adding up once the bullets start flying, plus they don't have the kind of ability to play with billions of taxpayer dollars as they don't have the Pentagon's budget. The third reason, and the closest to a sensible reason that Miller could come up with, is that Helicopters have quicker response time for the time being. The cutscene where the majority of the Mother Base Personnel leave to help Snake at Nicaragua implies that they own at least thirteen UH-1D Iroquois.

Sikorsky helicopters
The Gigant, was developed in Zanzibar Land, for the purpose of airlifting Metal Gear D into battle.

For the full article, see Gigant.

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

For the full article, see HH-64 Dragoon.

The HH-60 Seahawk was used by the U.S. Navy to transport the SEAL Teams to the Big Shell during the Manhatten 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. Another type is a smaller single rotor helicopter, modeled after the Bell Jet Ranger helis with NOTAR tail design, which was used at Shadow Moses Island and the assault on Outer Haven. A third, operated by Liquid Ocelot's PMC forces, appears to be a hybrid of the Super Stallion and Chinook.

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 were 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 had been cancelled in 2006.

Hind D
For the full article, see Hind D.

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. As usual, 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.

AH56As
The AH56A Cheyennes were a prototype model for a United States Attack Helicopter. They were originally designed as an armed escort for transport choppers such as the UH-1D Iroquois. However, it failed to go beyond the test production stages.

The Peace Sentinels somehow managed to procure some AH56A choppers during Operation Peace Walker, which came in two variants: a Bomber variant and a Raider variant. The Militaires Sans Frontieres also stole some of these choppers (both original and custom-designed) from the Peace Sentinels and added them to their expanding resources.

Boeing AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apaches were four rotored, twin engine attack choppers with tailwheel-type landing gear arrangements with a cockpit for a crew of two that were introduced into the US Army in 1984.

While the Boeing AH-64 Apaches were never actually seen in Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes, they were shown in artwork made by Yoshiyuki Takani.

Flying Platform
Flying Platforms were a type of personal VTOL aircraft that were used by the Soviet Union during the 1960s. The platform was based on the Hiller VZ-1 Pawnee, an American design that used contra-rotating motors to generate lift, but the Soviet model was instead propelled by jet engines, which used solid fuel. Guards used flying platforms in areas where it was difficult to access on foot, such as canyons, up in mountains and in jungles. The platform provided great mobility to the guards and had thick armor plating at the front, which provided a shield to hide behind. It was often equipped with a searchlight that was used for scouting, but could also be used to blind enemies as they attempted to target the pilot. However, its main weakness lied in its design, since the body of the pilot and the engine on the underbelly was exposed, and therefore vulnerable to gunfire. Also, the platform itself was unarmed, so the pilot would have to carry a one-handed weapon, since one hand was required to operate the vehicle. Several of the personnel of Tselinoyarsk used flying platforms, namely in Ponziovje and during the chase near the end of Operation Snake Eater. These variations were built in Groznyj Grad from Volgin's colossal resources. FOX agent Cunningham also used a flying platform, which was equipped with a strobe light, and had a variety of weapons including a laser-based weapon, machine guns, missiles, and mines.