Can Helicopters Carry Air-To-Air Missiles?

When people think of air-to-air combat, they maly picture fast-moving fighter jets shooting missiles at one another from miles away, or the engagements of fighters and bombers during World War II, or any other major conflict in the past century. One thing they likely wouldn't picture is a helicopter firing an air-to-air missile at another aircraft. 

This is because choppers aren't typically used for that. Even the best attack helicopters ever used in war are designed to strike targets on the ground, not in the air, and their comparatively slow speed makes them poor substitutes for fighters. But while this is generally true, there are some helicopters that have been modified — or even built from the ground up — to carry and fire air-to-air missiles. While not a helicopter's primary purpose, possessing the capability to strike other aircraft increases survivability in hostile areas, so it isn't entirely uncommon to arm choppers with air-to-air missiles.

These could be used to target anything flying, so don't think that armed copters will start taking out fighters in the skies over Ukraine. Instead, helicopter air-to-air missiles are primarily meant for self-defense against other helicopters, low-flying combat aircraft, or drones. The U.S. operates two attack helicopters that carry this kind of ordnance: the Bell AH-1Z Viper, flown by the Marine Corps, and the AH-65 Apache, operated by the Army. On the other side of the pond, the Russian-built Mi-24 Hind can carry air-to-air missiles. 

The Bell AH-1Z Viper is relatively new, having entered the inventory in 2010. It's a purpose-built attack helicopter, made capable of firing the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile from design to production. While the U.S isn't in the habit of helicopter dogfighting, that doesn't mean it doesn't prepare for the possibility. In fact, the U.S. once trained its helicopter pilots in air-to-air combat tactics, though it stopped due to the strain the training caused on the copters' airframes. 

The AH-1 is designed for air-to-air combat even if the Marines aren't currently training its pilots in it. The first, and so far only, instance of helicopter dogfighting comes from the Iran-Iraq War, which saw multiple engagements of one helicopter against another between 1980 and 1988. Iranian AH-1Js engaged Iraqi Mi-24 Hind and Mi-8 Hip attack helicopters, earning the AH-1J a kill ratio of 10:1. 

The fast-moving AH-64 Apache is capable of firing the Air-to-Air Stinger, a missile developed from the shoulder-launched Stinger missile system. Turkey's T129 ATAK helicopter can also carry these missiles. Similarly, the Russian Mi-24 Hind can carry and fire the AA-8 Aphid (R-60) Missile. This is the same, though upgraded, weapon employed during the Iran-Iraq war, and it seems the Russian Federation is following in the footsteps of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in using it for helicopter dogfighting.