(06-22-2022, 06:12 PM)TrumpCard Wrote: We’ve supplied some Soviet era choppers. Any reason NATO could not supply some Apaches?Yes, the fact Ukrainians can't fly them and can't maintain them. They probably also would have trouble with the fuel, although these days NATO standard is pretty available world wide. In the past Russian fuels and NATO fuels were completely different.
Learning to fly an Apache is a lot more difficult than learning to aim an M777. It takes lots more time and training. That said, taking the time to do so may make sense. Normally, that training for somebody who is already in the Army takes about a year. If you are transitioning from one type of helicopter to another it takes between 3 to 6 months. That is for a pilot already trained on "Western" helicopters. I don't know if you saw the piece by the F-16 instructor pilot who said NATO (Polish, German, etc.) pilots who were trained on Soviet aircraft were totally hopeless on the F-16. Their instincts and muscle memory are all wrong. The never mastered the jet and finished out their careers on MIGs. Not sure he is correct, but learning to fly an Apache is going to take an absolute minimum of six months, best case, even if he is not. Is that OK? Depends on the plan. Maintenance is yet another issue.