Kingfisher Gunship (anti-personnel)

The Kingfisher Gunship

 

DnD sent out a request for the development of a sustained aerial fire support platform that could loiter for longer mission deployments. Originally designed as a typical attack helicopter, the design was extensively overhauled to capitalize on newer VTOL technology. The 430th Tactical Helicopter Sqn, 5th CMBG, is the only operator of the Kingfisher

 

The production model Kingfisher follows compound helicopter design, with some fixed-wing aircraft influence. An internal engine provides VTOL stabilization through 4 belly thrusters. When in flight, this thrust is redirected out through a rear central thruster. Majority of engine power is provided by the massive external engines for both VTOL and flight. The weapon pylon wings are abnormally large to provide lift much in a similar manner to fixed-wing aircraft, flight stability is provided the large tail section. This allows the Kingfisher to achieve stable hover-flight for weapons fire, high flight speeds for rapid deployment and helicopter-like maneuverability

 

Standard armament loadout is 6x AGM-114 missiles, 4x Hydra 70 unguided rocket pods, 2x 40 mm Bofors and 1x ARIES 76mm Coilgun. Targeting is aided by the top-mounted fire control radar. An anti-personnel variant, for lower-intensity operations, replaces the cannons with 3x Gau19 gatling guns

 

I've been meaning to replace my VERY crudely made Vulture gunship moc (from 2018) for quite a while now, but every scifi inspiration I found felt way too complex for my experience. But then I stumbled upon the AH-56 and felt that it's design was reasonably doable but also unique enough to spin off into a full moc. Credit to Andrew Somers for the rocket pod design using the barrel and gear

 

Inspirations: AH-56 Cheyenne (primary influence), Apache Longbow, Ka-52 (for the horizontal stabilizers), AV-8 Harrier (for VTOL)

Done