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HG5M1 Kilgore II

The HG5M1 Kilgore II is the first new helicopter designed and built in Khertland for years(4 years and 3 months to be exact) and a lot of lessons had to be relearned as a result. The HG5 Kilgore II is a attack helicopter with a two-bladed main rotor powered by two turboshaft engines and a tail-wheel type landing gear arrangement. It features stub wings with two hardpoints on each side and a 30mm rotary autocannon. It also features a nose mounted sensor suite and a mast mounted radar.

Development of the HG5 attack helicopter dates back to the first Kilgore attack helicopter which was the second helicopter to enter widespread use. The original Kilgore was intended to replace the aging Yossarian attack helicopter designed during the monarchy days. The Kilgore while an improvement was still severely lacking in performance by the standards of the day however. So a replacement program exploring larger and more potent designs began. The program failed to produce a successor that could perform better than the original Kilgore. Instead, it cost significantly more per unit leading to the program termination. This forced the original Kilgore to remain in service and supplemented by the few trial units of its supposed successor.

The original Kilgore saw extensive service as a result but, the doctrine of the time in which it was designed for proved fatally flawed. The old Khertland doctrine which evolved from the monarchy days was mostly scrapped. Only some core principles were kept and this meant the roles of helicopters were questioned. Helicopters were found to be vulnerable in their original intended role. Meanwhile, the new doctrine didn't have any mission sets that needed helicopters to fulfill. Interest reignited under the year old modernization program at the time. Helicopters was envisioned as a mobile quick reaction force capable of going over any type of terrain.

But this role didn't leave a clear design goal until Khertland saw a helicopter from its regional neighbors. This influence encouraged Khertland to pursue a attack helicopter capable of firing stand-off munitions. But Khertland also really favored top-attack munitions which posed a challenge as these type of munitions required a less direct flight path and had shorter range as result. But Khertland engineers utilized prior experience in the LRASM program which was originally designed to counter foreign attack helicopters equipped with similar stand-off munition. That program ultimately did not succeed, but its experience helped lead to the successful development of a stand-off top-attack ATGM; the SnV25M2(X) Iskur. It is a two staged missile with a inertial guided booster phase taking it to the target where a timed fuze turns on the terminal active radar for the guided phase and conducts a top attack profile. The warhead as a result is significantly smaller but in turn has a top-attack profile range of 8.4 km (lore, vs 4.2 km actual) with a max range beyond 12.8 km (lore, vs 6.4 km actual).

The helicopter is typically armed with at least two such missiles along with 6x rocket pods and countermeasures for self defense. The Kilgore II also adopted a similar flight control technology as the Poporo transport helicopter lowering the workload of its pilots. As a result of these innovations, the Kilgore II is considered to be one of Khertland's most technologically sophisticated designs at the time it entered service. The helicopter is more popularly known as the HG1 Kilgore or just Kilgore II to differentiate it from the original Kilgore. The HG1 designation is common with the troops due to a initial misprint in various official documents including in training videos and manuals. Many of such documents remain in circulation to this day despite newer prints having corrected the error.

The attack helicopter has since been relegated to a defensive role as the newer, faster, and more flexible Wadjet recon attack helicopter took over most of the Kilgore II's role, especially as a mobile defense against armored breakthroughs. The missiles' small warhead also made it anemic when not explicitly striking the top of armored vehicles. It is now reserved as a small set of specialist platforms for taking out particularly heavy tanks.

Basic specifications:
Cost: 17,705
Blocks: 296
Weight: 8,728
Volume: 299 cubic meter
Length: 33m (fuselage), 36m (rotors)
Width: 15m
Height: 11m roof
Rotor Diameter: 21m (actual), 31m (visual)
Main Rotor Area: 1385.44 m^2 (actual), 3019.07 m^2 (visual)
Disk loading: 62.3 w/m^2 (actual), 2.89 w/m^2 (visual)
Speed: 44 m/s (158.4 kmh)

Armaments:
Guns: 30mm rotary autocannon
Hardpoints: 4x pylon, 2x on each stub wings
Missiles: 2x SnV25M2(X) Iskur
Countermeasures: Flare and chaff dispenser

Ratings:
Total firepower: 5.95
Missile: 5.17
Simple cannon: 0.78

Armor cost: 2.6% (462 materials)

Update: 3.4.6
I noticed and addressed the helicopter landing when it is stationary under breadboard(ie. combat mode) control.