Chopper losses chopped in Iraq

Strategy Page:

After a spike in helicopter losses in Iraq last year (seven in one month), losses have been sharply reduced. This was due to several factors. First, there was one group of Iraqi terrorists who were using heavy machine-guns, and predictable flying patterns by some American pilots, to stage ambushes last year. Then there was the beginning of the surge offensive, which put helicopters into the air more often, and less predictably. The Iraqi ambush gang was caught and destroyed, and helicopter pilots changed their tactics (they now fly higher, on random flight paths, and in twos instead of larger groups.) Another important factor is pilot experience. More of the pilots in the air now, have been to Iraqi before. Experience counts. Finally, the surge offensive of 2007 put most of the opposition out of business (either because they were killed or captured, or because they changed sides.)

...

I suggested that the pilots fly different elevations to avoid the ambushes early on and it looks like the folks at Darpa who read my post past it on. The issue first came up when one group was using IED's that were launched into the path of the choppers. That is much more difficult to do if they have no idea what altitude the craft is flying. The same thing applies to the heavy machine guns used in the alter attempts.

One of the reasons they were able to catch the ambush gangs is their attacks became predictable. The enemy needs ambiguity as to the time and place of an attack to make a hit and run raid. With them specializing in attacks on choppers it did not take a great deal of imagination to station troops along a route used by the choppers to find the gangs and kill or capture them while they were looking in the sky.