Ares Coyote Attack Helicopter

by Aaron Wigley (wigs@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au)

Manufacturer: Ares America

Designed for the North American market, the Coyote features battlefield survivability combined with a heavy punch. Its unique avionics and tactical package provides two battle computers, one for flight control, the other dedicated entirely to weapons, allowing the gunner to simply designate the priority of each target, and letting the system have free reign.

The primary armament consists of twin HMG Miniguns in the nose, which are independently servo-driven, allowing each to track different targets, or both focus on the same target. It brings a new dimension to ‘walking the fire.’

Crew consists of: Pilot in the forward seat, and gunner in the aft, elevated seat. Their tasks are assisted by the autopilots. Control is primarily via rigger gear, but manual backups are standard.

The engines have a turbine-boost feature, allowing the Coyote to rapidly accelerate to a speed of 600 (normal unboosted flank speed is 400). During the boost, the signature drops to 2, and fuel economy drops to 0.1 km/litre.

Handling    Speed     B/A     Sig    Apilot     Cost
   5       200/400   5/4(12)  5(2)      5

Seating:        1+1 integrated bucket seats
Access:         1+1 canopy
Economy:        0.8 km/litre            Fuel:   1500 litres
Storage:        2 CF
Sensors:        Ares Hunter (Mil-2 rating 7)
ECM/ECCM:       Mil-2/Mil-2

Weapons Outfit:

• Chin: Small chin-mounted remotely operated turret, with twin Ares HMG-MG’s (recoil comp 4). Dedicated 2x2CF ammunition bins for the chin guns (3200 rounds total).
• Wing Stubs: Small winglets to the left and right of the airframe provide three hardpoints each - two slung underneath, and one on the wingtip.
• Fuselage: Two hardpoints are provided underneath the airframe between the retractable landing gear, suitable for ECM pods, TARPS pods, fuel packs, or missiles.
• Aft: ‘Micro’ remote turret rear of the engine, usually computer-guided, provides a measure of defense from the rear. It cannot engage targets above the horizontal. Usual armament is an LMG-MG for field suppression. 500 rounds internal storage provided, belt-fed.

Accessories:

• Armored crew compartments (Armor 5 ballistic rating).
• Electronics bay, 5 CF of removable avionics.
• Envirosealed compartments, with 40 man-hours of life support.
• Integrated controls.
• Rigger controls.

…!
Eye in the Sky