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RH1M1 Sylphid

The RH1 Sylphid is an Khertland all-weather airborne early warning helicopter. The twin turboshaft was designed in 2022 initially for the army as part of the 2021 modernization program of Khertland's armed forces. The helicopter is equipped with a combined AEW/LAST radar with about 160 km (5km/1 tile ingame) detection range, along with other advanced sensor suite.

Most of the funding for the helicopter was provided by the army for a airborne surveillance aircraft but the program was later requisitioned by the air force with initial development costs compensated during the transfer. The air force did not actually want the helicopter as they had preferred a straight-wing aircraft. The transferred happened anyway, due to bureaucratic reasons as the Secretary of the Army argued that development of an AEW aircraft should be handled by the air force, not the army. The civilian government concurred and forced the program to be transferred despite objections by the air force. The air force reluctantly completed the development as they were lacking a modern AEW aircraft regardless and decided to use the nearly completed design as a stopgap measure. The army also already signed production contracts prior to the transfer forcing the air force to be contractually bound to accept the deliveries.

As a result of its army origins, the radar mounted on the starboard side of the helicopter is designed to be dual-use with low-altitude surveillance capabilities included along side its airborne early warning task. The army later turned around and ordered a number of helicopters for its ground surveillance radar capability. As the batch ordered were larger than what the air force would have preferred, they instead transferred some to the army who wanted some.

The transfer became a major scandal as the army was the one who initiated the development of the helicopter and managed to use political and bureaucratic pressure to force development costs on to the air force's budget before turning around and receiving those helicopters for free. Essentially the army high command had used the air force's budget to develop and procure a system they themselves wanted. After a review by the Army Accountability Office (AAO), the army and air force would split the development cost evenly, and have the army pay for each of the helicopters transferred to the air force. The payment was accomplished via reallocating part of the army's budget for that fiscal year back to the air force.

Begrudgingly, the Air Force accepted the Sylphid as a stop-gap measure until a new fixed-wing AEW aircraft could replace it. The Air Force's reluctance stemmed from the slow speed and the helicopter's low flight altitude limited the radar coverage. For the army, a helicopter was ideal since it could land anywhere the main ground forces were and its low altitude wasn't a problem since it would need to be for ground observation missions. The helicopter also serves as a command and control platform for other army rotary aviation which also weren't particularly fast or high flying. Lastly, it could provide early warning to ground-based air defenses which didn't need that much detection range nor high speed. The army eventually recognized the slow speed to be too vulnerable for forward reconnaissance; eventually procuring the Wadjet to complement it. The Army operates 36 Sylphids while the Air Force operates 24. Despite eventually procuring a fixed-wing AEW, the Air Force maintains the helicopter AEW fleet to act as additional sensor nodes, maritime patrol, or to fill lower intensity tasks.

Basic specifications:
Cost: 6,118
Blocks: 475
Weight: 11,998
Volume: 619 cubic meter
Length: 47m (fuselage), 49m (rotors)
Width: 9m (fuselage), 31m (rotors)
Height: 11m
Rotor Diameter: 31m (actual), 49m (visual)
Main Rotor Area: 3019 m^2 (actual), 7543 m^2 (visual)
Disk loading: 3.97 w/m^2 (actual), 1.59 w/m^2 (visual)
Service Ceiling: 432 m
Speed: 35 m/s (126 kmh)

Update Compatibility: 3.5.9
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