A military helicopter is a helicopter that is either specifically built or converted for use by military forces. A military helicopter's mission is a function of its design or conversion. The most common use of military helicopters is transport of troops, but transport helicopters can be modified or converted to perform other missions such as combat search and rescue (CSAR), medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), airborne command post, or even armed with weapons for attacking ground targets. Specialized military helicopters are intended to conduct specific missions. Examples of specialized military helicopters are attack helicopters, observation helicopters and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters.
A UH-60 Black Hawk operated by the Royal Jordanian Air Force
A Z-10 of the People's Liberation Army Ground Aviation
An Mi-26 operated by the Russian Air Force
An AĆ©rospatiale Gazelle operated by the French Army Light Aviation
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of short take-off and landing (STOL) or short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft cannot perform without a runway.
A Bell 206 helicopter operated by the Los Angeles Police Department Air Support Division
Cabin view looking out from a helicopter in flight
Bell 412CF looking forward from the tail, showing its twin turbine endinge exhausts
1956 Hiller YROE-1 one-man "Rotorcycle" being tested at NASA Ames Research Center