Twinblade

"Twinblade inspection complete!"

- Twinblade

Replacing the Siege Copter the KA-65 Twinblade is a Soviet helicopter designed for a joint role as a heavy gunship and a heavy transport. Designed by the famous Krasna Aerospace, this versatile war machine is sturdy and well armed with two PKX 12.7mm heavy machine guns, and four 60mm "Oduvanchik" rocket pods.

The Twinblade has functionally limitless ammunition-no one has ever seen it reloading back at the airfield. This allows it to constantly fire it's machine guns; however they must stop and reload their rocket pods after exhausting their supply. This can possibly take quite a while.

Its three rotor design (two main rotors and a tail rotor) give it unparalleled stability and lift for a helicopter, allowing it to transport almost any ground unit.

The Twinblade's ancestry with the GWWII Hind is rather obvious, going by it's design and it's heavy armament.

History
"This insolence will be noted."

- Twinblade, taking enemy fire

The Soviet Union is internationally reviled for its "zero-tolerance" policy toward battlefield deserters, in what many critics deride as an unethically ruthless attitude toward warfare. This policy is widely enforced by the Soviets' emblematic combat helicopter, the KA-65 Twinblade, due to its ability to hover over the battlefield in an optimal position to quickly identify and deal with those attempting to flee from the front lines. In a recent release, however, the Soviet Military Affairs Bureau announced that battlefield desertions recently dropped to a record-low zero percent (rounded to the nearest whole number), and thanked the Soviet people for their unwavering devotion to the elimination of their nation's enemies. Nevertheless, the Twinblade is expected to continue to see heavy use in ongoing conflicts between Soviet and Allied forces.

This sturdy, well-armored mainline combat helicopter features swivel-mounted dual heavy-duty machineguns in addition to four rocket launchers slung under the wings. Further, its three-rotor design (two main rotors with one in the tail) gives this gunship unparalleled stability among similar aircraft. It bears mentioning that the Twinblade's machine guns, which pack more than enough punch to chew through an enemy squad in no time, are ill-suited against armored vehicles--though, of course, that's what the rockets are for. This is a deliberate trade-off to reduce the mass of the Twinblade, which helps make the gunship remarkably quick, yet muscular enough to transport a Tesla Trooper fire team or even a V4 rocket launcher to and from the front.

Because of all this, Soviet battlefield commanders often quip that the Twinblade is "very, very Russian", in the sense that this helicopter is considered to be direct and uncompromising. Even still, it is not without vulnerabilities. All that ammunition carried on board, and the relatively delicate engineering needed to make the thing somehow fly straight, means the Twinblade is quite susceptible to anti-aircraft fire. In one incident, an entire Twinblade squadron carrying a Soviet Hammer Tank platoon was ambushed and decimated by a wing of Allied Apollo fighters, causing the Soviet Union to fervently re-declare war against France, Germany, and Great Britain in a harshly-worded announcement.

Considering the Twinblade may be carrying precious cargo, the loss of even one can put a heavy toll even on the vast riches of the Soviet Union. This, along with the Twinblade's ability to hover watchfully over a battle, gives the aircraft a uniquely important and authoritative role within the Soviet military. Today, Twinblades all carry Soviet commissars on board as copilots, men well-versed in the Soviet doctrine who do not hesitate to goad their enemies or motivate their brethren by any means necessary.

Usage
"They deserve no quarter!"

- Twinblade

The Twinblade is a symbol of Red airforce strength, often used to enforce the Red Army's "Zero-Tolerance" policy towards battlefield desertions. Additionally, its copilot is always a commissar, to motivate the pilot as well as the unit being towed. A lot of commanders rely heavily on this unit, for example Commander Zhana.When she was present, they were a pretty common sight on the battlefield.

Recent intel from New York says it was even able to lift the massive Apocalypse tank! Their towing mechanism for this is quite complicated, so it can carry a squad (squad: 5 men) of infantry or vehicles, but not both at once.

The vehicle has weaknesses however. While brimming with firepower, all of it is directed to the ground, making it a favorite target of Allied Apollo Fighters. Attempts fo fit anti air weapons miserably failed, for these were very inaccurate. Also, Nearly anything able to fire back from the ground forms an immediate threat to a unlucky Twinblade pilot. Additionally, when carrying important units, the loss of the Twinblade results in the unit's destruction as well.

Like all WWIII aircraft the Twinblades lack the ability to bail out and often heard screaming and yelling "Aaaaahhhhhh!", "DON'T LAUGH AT ME!","But I'm a Romanov!," or screaming in Russian when shot down.

Notes from the field
"DONT LAUGH AT ME!"

- Twinblade being shot down

Battlefield reconnaissance has revealed at least these facts about the Twinblade:

• Bristling with weapons -- Twinblades can overwhelm most terrestrial targets ill-equipped to retaliate against aircraft. Their machine guns may fire continuously without overheating, while their rockets deliver a powerful punch. Twinblades have so many rockets, they never have to resupply in battle. However, the rockets are slow to rearm, so Twinblade pilots tend to favor brutal hit-and-run attacks.

• Beware of fighters -- The Twinblade's weapons are squarely aimed at devastating surface threats. As a result, this dangerous helicopter is a favored target for Allied air superiority fighters and Tengus. The Soviet Military Affairs Bureau strongly recommends that Twinblades always travel with MiG fighter escort.

• Passenger room -- Surveys indicate that, when it comes to vehicular combat transportation, Soviet infantry divisions generally prefer flying in a Twinblade cabin under the strict supervision of a commissar to being packed into a KDB-2 Bullfrog and forcefully ejected into the combat zone.

• Towing cables -- A remarkable power/mass ratio gives the Twinblade the ability to pick up and tow most other combat vehicles, although the towing system and the passenger compartment use mutually-exclusive systems. This means a Twinblade can airlift a vehicle or some troopers, but not both at once. Note it will not pick up hijacked Assault Destroyers because they are heavier than Apocalypse Tanks.

Trivia
"What do we have here?"

- Twinblade

It shares the same design as the GDI TWIII Hammerheads and the old Hind Copters.

This copters ancestry is similar to the Hind.