ALLSOPP HELIKITES ANTI AIRCRAFT DEFENCE

( AHAAD )

Allsopp Helikites Anti-Aircraft Defence (AHAAD) is presently being considered by the Defence Procurement Agency's Integrated Ground Based Air Defence (IGBAD) programme. AHAAD is primarily an anti-helicopter system with an ability to be converted to an anti-fixed wing defence at extra cost and is based around the new patented helium filled tethered aircraft known as Helikites. Allsopp Helikites AHAAD consists of large numbers of helium filled, aerodynamic tethered "Skyhook" or "Stealth "Helikites permanently hauling extremely strong, loose lines high into the air. They are designed to wrap around helicopter rotor blades without breaking and then to pull up thicker rope resting on the ground. The thicker rope in combination with the long lines wrap and tighten around the actuator arms of the helicopter until the actuator arms or the rotors are jammed. This causes loss of control, loss of lift and the aircraft to crash.

A close up of a high visibility Sky-hook Helikite, the building block of the AHAAD.

HIGH VISIBILITY HELIKITES

A high visibility AHAAD Sky-hook Unit at 200 ft.

A high visibility AHAAD unit at 500 ft.

The system is viable due to the very high unit cost of military aircraft compared to the extremely low cost and low maintenance of individual "Sky-Hook" Helikites and also because helicopters are manned and so their loss is very serious as even very low casualties can cause an aggressor to withdraw. As occurred with the U.S.A. in Somalia.

High Visibility Sky-hook Helikite showing compact size, simple hand winch and a tiny 13 kg gas cylinder, all that is needed to fill the Sky-hook !

Compact lighter-than-air Helikites fly thousands of feet high to entangle helicopter rotor blades in very strong polyethylene lines. These do not cut because the lines are loose and loose lines cannot be cut by rotating blades however sharp and fast. Instead wrap around the rotor arms of the helicopter causing loss of control, rotor lock up and the aircraft to fall out of the sky. For even greater effect the thin polyethylene line can pull up more heavier rope coiled on the ground that has even greater effect on the actuator arms and helicopter wing rotation.

One person can operate a large number of Helikites at one time due to their ease of handling in all weathers that massed helicopter operations can be conducted. "Skyhook" Helikites are only 3 meters( 9ft ) long and require minimal helium to fill them. Only a few minutes training is required and military personnel are not needed to operate AHAAD so logistics are vastly reduced. As there are no explosives involved, they are safe to be used around the general public and can be legally bought by anyone who desires them.

Un-inflated Helikites can be stored for years in a briefcase sized box, transported by courier anywhere in the world, and then inflated to fly within a few minutes.

STEALTH HELIKITES

Low Visibility radar stealthy Helikite with carryall containing helium bottle, reel, flying line and rope

AHAAD cannot be seen on radar, is very difficult to spot by eye and has little or no infra-red signature so is very hard to avoid by pilots. The helikite flying and catching lines are extremely difficult to detect at laser wavelength and are unlikely to be detectable under battlefield conditions. Also, advanced helicopter operations planning becomes extremely difficult because the enemy cannot know the numbers of AHAAD deployed or their whereabouts.

The use of Stealth Helikites makes destruction almost impossible because what cannot be detected cannot be destroyed.

Stealth Helikites flying above 2000 feet are usually inviable from the ground. Helicopter pilots have little possibility of seeing them to avoid them.	Translucent Stealth helikite flying at 1000 ft. - very difficult to see

Stealth Helikite is translucent and very hard to see.

This one is flying at 100 feet.

When deployed at a concentration of one Helikite trailing two loose lines per square kilometer, a helicopter with a twenty meter wingspan travelling at 200 km/h would have an overwhelming probability of contacting AHAAD within eight minutes. This time would be reduced to just 45 seconds if ten Helikites were deployed per square kilometer over sensitive areas.

With AHAAD deployed with one Helikite per square kilometer, the cost of defending low level airspace over most of an area the size of England would be the same as just one modern military helicopter.

Allsopp Helikites Ltd. believe the low monetary, energy and human costs of Helikite tethered aircraft will inevitably mean low-level airspace is dominated by them in the future and not by expensive military aircraft.

A number of very experienced ex-Vietnam combat helicopter pilots from the US forces have been questioned by Allsopp Helikites about what their reactions would been if they had encountered AHAAD or similar objects in Vietnam. They all said that they would not gain height to fly over it, as any flight over 400 ft. was far to risky to attempt as experience showed them they were rapidly shot down by ground forces if they flew higher than 400 ft.. When asked if they would fly through AHAAD at a concentration of one Skyhook per square kilometer, they all said they would have refused any order to do so. This is because they were very aware the effect of loose lines upon the airworthiness of helicopters.

There are very few defences that do not have counter measures available AHAAD is impossible to avoid by pilots in all present helicopter designs, unless they are lucky, relying on luck is not an option when planning operations therefore Allsopp Helikites Ltd believe planning offensive low level helicopter operations in AHAAD controlled areas is almost impossible.

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Allsopp Helikites Ltd. South End Farm, Damerham, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, SP6 3HW, England

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