FM 57-35 Airmobile Operations - Survival Books

WWW.SURVIVALEBOOKS.COMin order to capitalize on surprise and to minimize ground movement in the objective area.(1) Approach and return routes. Many possible routes arestudied, and the desirability of using multiple routes isconsidered. Multiple routes in the vicinity of the objective area permit several flights to land simultaneously,but complicate movement control and fire support. Majorconsiderations which influence the selection of flightroutes are the(a) Ability of the enemy to detect the movement. Aircraftcan best avoid detection by flying at low altitudes andby taking advantage of defilade and concealment inflight. Helicopters can take advantage of periods ofreduced visibility to hide their movements. Detectionand interference by the enemy will be influenced by thelength of time the airmobile force is passing overenemy territory. Shuttling or moving a long air columnover a single route may make the airmobile force toovulnerable to enemy detection and interference. Multiple routes may be necessary to reduce the vulnerability.(b) Location of enemy forces. Whenever practicable, theOBJECTIVE AREAACPLATERAL (CROSSOVER)ROUTE (ALTERNATEAPPROACH ORRETIREMENT ROUTE)RETURN ROUTE(ALTERNATE APPROACHROUTE)LATERAL (CROSSOVER)ROUTE (ALTERNATEAPPROACH OR RETIREMENT ROUTE)ACP-AIR CONTROLPOINTLOADING AREASFigure 3. Flight routes.30 AGO 2294B