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Article: Defect in rockets affects readiness of armed helicopter crews.
- Article from:
- Defense Daily
- Article date:
- April 17, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Access Intelligence, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A manufacturing defect affecting the safety and reliability of 2.75-inch rockets carried by Army and Marine Corps attack helicopters and military forward air control aircraft led the services last fall to suspend the use of the rockets in training, causing a temporary degradation in readiness of the crews that use them.
After the services in gunnery training between 1992 and 1994 experienced 14 early rocket motor blows, in which the rocket exploded a half-second after launch, the Army in October 1994 restricted the rockets' use, classifying them "Code N," or for use only in combat. The Navy, whose version of the rockets has also experienced problems with the ...