# Assault helicopter being shot down - why no use of counter measures?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assault-helicopter-being-shot-down-why-no-use-of-counter-measures/754885>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 16, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assault-helicopter-being-shot-down-why-no-use-of-counter-measures/754885 "2016-05-16T02:46:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MaverocK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@MaverocK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaverocK)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assault-helicopter-being-shot-down-why-no-use-of-counter-measures/754885/1 "2016-05-16T02:46:55Z")

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In the link below, there is a video of an AH-1W being shoot-down by some fighter(s) of a terrorist organization. (4:00 onward)

[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCM3d4nkUmk)

I am curious about why counter-measures are not employed by the pilot. To my knowledge, it is an important life-saver function of an aircraft. I guess that one can only “speculate” about the reasons without reading the pilot’s mind but still I am curious.

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**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assault-helicopter-being-shot-down-why-no-use-of-counter-measures/754885/2 "2016-05-16T03:10:30Z")

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Its a Turkish Cobra gunship shot down by PKK militants.

It hits like 3 seconds after it launches. I guess that they had no time to activate countermeasures and in the sameway terrain masked the launch long enough that any automatic counter measures did not have to engage before the damn thing hit.

Watever your opinion of the conflict, poor bastards, a horrible way to go.

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assault-helicopter-being-shot-down-why-no-use-of-counter-measures/754885/3 "2016-05-16T13:20:56Z")

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Detecting man-portable IR anti-aircraft missiles is tricky at best- they don’t emit any sort of radiation to be detected, they’re small, and they’re usually fired from short range with very short flight times.

> **[Missile approach warning system | The infrared seeking missile threat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_Approach_Warning#The_infrared_seeking_missile_threat)**
>
> Analysis of aircraft losses due to enemy action since the 1960s shows that at least 70% of all losses were attributed to passive heat seeking i.e. Infrared (IR) guided missiles\[citation needed\]. This might be surprising given that radar guided SAM systems have longer engagement ranges, are faster, have higher maneuvering potential, carry larger warheads and are equipped with proximity fuzes.
> The main reason why IR guided missiles were so effective was that it took much longer to develop effectiv...

Plus, the Turkish military isn’t necessarily the most high-tech and advanced military either; the SuperCobra that got shot down was of early 1990s vintage, and may not have even had the missile warning systems installed.