For a while, I believed that AT rockets were useless against choppers. I was wrong.
Often times, you're being supressed by a skilled chopper pilot, and you can't make it to the AA rockets. Maybe you get there, but the gunner plugs you before you can lock on.
On top of that, AA rockets are nearly useless against a good pilot, unless you've got a network of 5 AA emplacements ready to fire.
Here are some tips on using that SRAW, Eryx, or RPG to swat some flies.
NOTE: This is all from ingame experience. I never looked at a data sheet for this, and I did not use the scientific method. I might be wrong about some things. One more thing, alot of this stuff is obvious to me because i've been practicing, and it may be obvious to you without practice. I really don't know, but I do know that I don't see enough choppers being shot down by anything on the ground.
Keep in mind...
... that you've only got 6 shots, and resupply is rarely an option.
... that AT rockets outrun choppers.
... that the guidance on a rocket is for fine tuning only. It turn 45' for you, but 90.
... that when you have the rocket scoped in, and have the reticule on a vehicle, that vehicle's alarm will sound.
... that your perspective and the chopper's perspecive are very different. An obvious hiding place might be not so obvious from the air, and vice versa.
When firing at a moving target.
Never take a shot perpendicular (at a 90' angle) to the copter. A parallell shot is the best type, and the closer to parallell, the better..
If the chopper is going to fly straight over you, keep it in your field of view, and fire soon after it passes you.
You generally will want to bring up the scope only when you fire, or even after you've fired.
If you can't wait till it passes over you, aim for the cockpit and let loose. Be sure to accomodate for your perspective.
When firing at a stationary target.
Sometimes arrogant pilots will float in one spot and let their gunner just spray. Let their arrogance be their demise.
Shoot ASAP. The longer the copter stays there, the more likely it'll notice you and blast you.
If you're in a squad with good communication, firing a salvo of 2+ rockets can be deadly. I believe most attack choppers will go down in 3 hits, and transports in 4, though I may be wrong. (As of 1.12)
If you have the M95, (which I currently, do not.) I assume this would probably be an ideal time to use its penetrating power.
Transports
Hunting transports is a very different sport to hunting attack choppers. They fly in different ways, they rarely pass directly over you, and there's always the wonderful gaps in the armor.
You hear the occasional story about how a guy plugged the pilot with his AT rocket, though I have never witnessed this, I've killed crew (including passengers) with AT rockets, AA, APC cannons, and even LMGs before.
If you're feeling cocky, then by all means, go for it. It's not a reliable way to take down a chopper, but it's fun. Underslung 'nade launchers (that was a mouthful compared to "noob tube") are also capable of killing crew, not to mention that they're more lethal than AT.
Keep in mind that the entry points on a blackhawk are to the side, and on an MI-17 (Opposing force transport chopper) it's in the back. Getting a shot into an MI-17 is harder and easier. You have to get an overflight for it, but it's a much surer shot if you have one.
RPGs (SF only)
In Soviet Russia, RPG guides you!... ok bad joke.
RPGs don't have the luxury of guidance, but just as I said, it's luxury, not neccesity. In fact, I prefer the feel of the RPG over the standard rockets. You can easily pop one in a tanks treads, and pop behind cover, then reload. But this isn't about tanks, is it?
RPGs are used against aircraft in much the same way as Eryxes or SRAWs, but you can't wait for the chopper to pass over you, then shoot. You're better off shooting as it's flying towards you (because lack of guidance). This is more dangerous because the pilot and/or gunner will definately notice you, and begin to shoot.
I've heard rumors that RPGs do more damage to copters than the standard rockets. I have no proof, or even any reason to believe it is true, but it would be a nice adjustment for the lack of guidance.
Ground Defense (TOWs)
The ground defense missiles are often neglected. 1 TOW is worth approximately 2 SRAWs. It's hard to line up a shot with one of these, because the target has to be very low, but if you can get one, take it. It's an absolute joy to down a chopper with one of these.
Best used against stationary targets.
Other small arms
Lets face it, the combination of AA being in awkward areas, and the fact that they are just plain bad against an experienced pilot means that you're probably gonna end up shooting plain ol' bullets at them.
Back in the day, I used to down choppers with my PKM on a regular basis. Now people know that if they're being sprayed with 7.62x54mm, they should either find the source, or run. Still, spraying a chopper with an LMG can be a good way to chip away at it's armor, distract it/draw fire (mixed blessing), and raise your accuracy stat with LMGs! (I kid, but it's the truth.)
Mounted heavy machineguns such as the M2 and Kord* are GREAT against copters. Just make sure that when they notice you, you've got an escape plan. On more than one occasion I've dueled an attack chopper with a light buggy (Op4 version, not the US one) and came out on top.
Kords may look like PKMs, but they aren't. (bigger bullets, scaled up gun.)
Mounted M249s on boats can be useful to pester a copter, but if the pilot has some skill, you're dead meat out there.
I've never shot a pilot out of a chopper with an M95, but here's one tactic I learned by being the victim of it. Find a perch with view to an enemy chopper spawn's cockpit, and just camp it. I was playing Ghost Town (Special Forces map) one time, and I witnessed a guy get 5+ kills doing this. He probably got at least 10 more that I didn't see.
The counter to the above strategy is to turn the copter as soon as you get in it. Hold W+D or W+A to turn the cockpit away from the sniper.
We've all heard of C4ing a low flying chopper, right? Well here's an odd variant. Place C4 in high places, and wait for the chopper to circle over the area. I've gotten a chopper to smoke doing this, but haven't yet blown one.
Well that's all for now. Please comment, criticize, and add more advice to the tread!
Update:01/13/06 (Stationary Anti Tank)
Often times, you're being supressed by a skilled chopper pilot, and you can't make it to the AA rockets. Maybe you get there, but the gunner plugs you before you can lock on.
On top of that, AA rockets are nearly useless against a good pilot, unless you've got a network of 5 AA emplacements ready to fire.
Here are some tips on using that SRAW, Eryx, or RPG to swat some flies.
NOTE: This is all from ingame experience. I never looked at a data sheet for this, and I did not use the scientific method. I might be wrong about some things. One more thing, alot of this stuff is obvious to me because i've been practicing, and it may be obvious to you without practice. I really don't know, but I do know that I don't see enough choppers being shot down by anything on the ground.
Keep in mind...
... that you've only got 6 shots, and resupply is rarely an option.
... that AT rockets outrun choppers.
... that the guidance on a rocket is for fine tuning only. It turn 45' for you, but 90.
... that when you have the rocket scoped in, and have the reticule on a vehicle, that vehicle's alarm will sound.
... that your perspective and the chopper's perspecive are very different. An obvious hiding place might be not so obvious from the air, and vice versa.
When firing at a moving target.
Never take a shot perpendicular (at a 90' angle) to the copter. A parallell shot is the best type, and the closer to parallell, the better..
If the chopper is going to fly straight over you, keep it in your field of view, and fire soon after it passes you.
You generally will want to bring up the scope only when you fire, or even after you've fired.
If you can't wait till it passes over you, aim for the cockpit and let loose. Be sure to accomodate for your perspective.
When firing at a stationary target.
Sometimes arrogant pilots will float in one spot and let their gunner just spray. Let their arrogance be their demise.
Shoot ASAP. The longer the copter stays there, the more likely it'll notice you and blast you.
If you're in a squad with good communication, firing a salvo of 2+ rockets can be deadly. I believe most attack choppers will go down in 3 hits, and transports in 4, though I may be wrong. (As of 1.12)
If you have the M95, (which I currently, do not.) I assume this would probably be an ideal time to use its penetrating power.
Transports
Hunting transports is a very different sport to hunting attack choppers. They fly in different ways, they rarely pass directly over you, and there's always the wonderful gaps in the armor.
You hear the occasional story about how a guy plugged the pilot with his AT rocket, though I have never witnessed this, I've killed crew (including passengers) with AT rockets, AA, APC cannons, and even LMGs before.
If you're feeling cocky, then by all means, go for it. It's not a reliable way to take down a chopper, but it's fun. Underslung 'nade launchers (that was a mouthful compared to "noob tube") are also capable of killing crew, not to mention that they're more lethal than AT.
Keep in mind that the entry points on a blackhawk are to the side, and on an MI-17 (Opposing force transport chopper) it's in the back. Getting a shot into an MI-17 is harder and easier. You have to get an overflight for it, but it's a much surer shot if you have one.
RPGs (SF only)
In Soviet Russia, RPG guides you!... ok bad joke.
RPGs don't have the luxury of guidance, but just as I said, it's luxury, not neccesity. In fact, I prefer the feel of the RPG over the standard rockets. You can easily pop one in a tanks treads, and pop behind cover, then reload. But this isn't about tanks, is it?
RPGs are used against aircraft in much the same way as Eryxes or SRAWs, but you can't wait for the chopper to pass over you, then shoot. You're better off shooting as it's flying towards you (because lack of guidance). This is more dangerous because the pilot and/or gunner will definately notice you, and begin to shoot.
I've heard rumors that RPGs do more damage to copters than the standard rockets. I have no proof, or even any reason to believe it is true, but it would be a nice adjustment for the lack of guidance.
Ground Defense (TOWs)
The ground defense missiles are often neglected. 1 TOW is worth approximately 2 SRAWs. It's hard to line up a shot with one of these, because the target has to be very low, but if you can get one, take it. It's an absolute joy to down a chopper with one of these.
Best used against stationary targets.
Other small arms
Lets face it, the combination of AA being in awkward areas, and the fact that they are just plain bad against an experienced pilot means that you're probably gonna end up shooting plain ol' bullets at them.
Back in the day, I used to down choppers with my PKM on a regular basis. Now people know that if they're being sprayed with 7.62x54mm, they should either find the source, or run. Still, spraying a chopper with an LMG can be a good way to chip away at it's armor, distract it/draw fire (mixed blessing), and raise your accuracy stat with LMGs! (I kid, but it's the truth.)
Mounted heavy machineguns such as the M2 and Kord* are GREAT against copters. Just make sure that when they notice you, you've got an escape plan. On more than one occasion I've dueled an attack chopper with a light buggy (Op4 version, not the US one) and came out on top.
Kords may look like PKMs, but they aren't. (bigger bullets, scaled up gun.)
Mounted M249s on boats can be useful to pester a copter, but if the pilot has some skill, you're dead meat out there.
I've never shot a pilot out of a chopper with an M95, but here's one tactic I learned by being the victim of it. Find a perch with view to an enemy chopper spawn's cockpit, and just camp it. I was playing Ghost Town (Special Forces map) one time, and I witnessed a guy get 5+ kills doing this. He probably got at least 10 more that I didn't see.
The counter to the above strategy is to turn the copter as soon as you get in it. Hold W+D or W+A to turn the cockpit away from the sniper.
We've all heard of C4ing a low flying chopper, right? Well here's an odd variant. Place C4 in high places, and wait for the chopper to circle over the area. I've gotten a chopper to smoke doing this, but haven't yet blown one.
Well that's all for now. Please comment, criticize, and add more advice to the tread!
Update:01/13/06 (Stationary Anti Tank)
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