Longbow (Red Alert 1)

The Longbow is an Allied attack helicopter in Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Counterstrike, The Aftermath, and Retaliation.

Due to possible legal reasons over the Longbow name owned by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, the unit is renamed to attack helicopter in Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Remastered''. References to Longbow are kept on this wiki.''

Background
It is equipped with heavy armour, sophisticated targeting equipment and several missile launchers. Its powerful missiles and great speed enable it to hunt enemy tanks, particularly fragile V2 rocket launcher. Other units, such as Heavy tanks, are equally vulnerable because of their lack of anti-aircraft armament.

In-game
Longbows do not have sufficient armour to survive prolonged anti-aircraft fire, and thus commanders were forced to deploy them carefully. However, once deployed, the Longbows prove very effective against armoured targets. The downside to the powerful missiles is that the Longbow can only carry 10, and must reload at an intact Helipad before re-engaging the foe.

Being an air unit, the Longbow, rather illogically, cannot effectively scout terrain. The Longbow's heavy armour means that they could withstand at least a few volleys of missiles, and could even engage Mammoth Tanks for limited duration with a decent chance of survival.

Because of the guided ordnance used by the helicopter, it has the ability to engage aircraft, while it would struggle to engage Soviet Yaks or MiGs because of their faster speed, this does give it the ability to engage Hinds, as the Hind cannot engage aircraft and travels slower than the Longbow, this gives them an advantage. Unfortunately this could rarely be conducted, as air to air engagements were rare and due to the Command and Control program of the era not allowing commanders to target an airborne enemy. This has been changed in Red Alert Remastered where the helicopter can target an airborne enemy.

Tiberium Universe
It was further used by the Brotherhood of Nod as the primary attack helicopter in the First Tiberium War with their missiles replaced by chain guns.

Red Alert Universe
With the Allied forces expanding their air force by the end of the war, the Longbow's role was taken by the more mobile Harrier, and the only helicopter fielded by the Allies during Third World War was the Nighthawk Transport.

Behind the scenes
"Longbow" is the nickname for the AH-64D variant of the AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship which features numerous upgrades over the original including a glass cockpit and advanced sensors. The original version of the Apache, the AH-64A, was first produced in 1984 and was deployed to Europe in 1987 for military exercises, during the later years of the Cold War when the Soviet Union was still seen as the main threat to NATO. The AH-64D Apache Longbow was first delivered in 1997, which by then the Soviet Union had dissolved and was replaced by Russia and other successor states.

The in-game unit and promotional render resembles the AH-64A. It is missing the AH-64D's radome (fire control radar) mounted above the main rotor, so the "Longbow" nickname is erroneous. It's possible, however, that in the C&C timeline, the names were reversed, with the original model being named 'Longbow' and the modernized model used by Nod being named 'Apache'. A less nonsensical possibility, is that "Longbow" is the fictional export variant of the Apache in European service.

Most official sources use the full length nickname "Apache Longbow" for the AH-64D. All other Command and Conquer titles with the AH-64 use the "Apache" nickname.

Trivia
The Longbow is an upgraded variant of the Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter.