Weapon action switch

Arming

Two buttons on the ARMAMENT panel, in both crew stations, control the aircraft’s weapons. They need battery power.

Button	Effect
ARM/SAFE	Toggles the aircraft between armed and safe. Nothing fires when safe, and the laser does not fire either.
GND ORIDE	Ground override. On the ground, the aircraft is held safe, weapons cannot be actioned and the radar does not scan, unless ground override is on.

On the ground without ground override, or with the battery off, the aircraft goes safe and every weapon is de-actioned. Both buttons can also be bound in AH-64D Official Project: Cockpit Controls.

Actioning a weapon

Each crew station chooses a weapon with its own weapon action switch (WAS):

Binding	Weapon
WAS Gun1	M230 cannon
WAS Rockets2	Hydra 70 rockets
WAS Missiles3	AGM-114 Hellfires

Press the same binding again to de-action it. The actioned weapon shows on the top line of the HAD, right of centre: CGUN or PGUN, CRKT or PRKT, CMSL or PMSL, the first letter saying which crew station is in control.

Then pull the trigger: Arma’s Fire binding. The weapon is aimed with your sight.

Sharing between crew stations

The aircraft has one actioned weapon at a time.

• The last crew station to action a weapon takes it. If the pilot actions the gun while the CPG has missiles, the CPG loses the missiles.
• Rockets can be held by both at once. When the CPG’s sight is the TADS and the pilot’s is the HMD, they fire cooperatively (COOP): the CPG aims, and the pilot’s rocket steering and range are the CPG’s.
• With both holding rockets otherwise, the crew station that actioned them last aims.

When the pilot holds a weapon, or there is no player in the CPG seat, the pilot fires it.

Before it fires: inhibits

When something stops a weapon firing, or means it may miss, the reason shows in the centre of the HAD above the bottom lines. Messages that stop the weapon are in bold.

Message	Weapon	Meaning
SAFE	All	The aircraft is not armed.
NO TARGET	All	FCR is your sight and there is no next-to-shoot target.
AZ LIMIT / EL LIMIT	Gun	The target is outside the gun’s travel: 86° left or right, 11° up, 60° down.
COINCIDENCE	Gun	The gun is still turning onto where you are looking, more than 1° away.
BAL LIMIT	All	Beyond range: 7.5 km for rockets, 8 km for Hellfires, or beyond the round’s reach for the gun.
GUN FIXED	Gun	The gun is in FXD mode, fixed 6° up along the nose. See the WPN page.
ALT LAUNCH	Gun	Gun trigger pulled within 2 seconds of a rocket or missile launch.
ACCEL LIMIT	Rockets, Hellfires	Below 0.5 G: the rotor could strike the weapon.
PYLON ERROR	Rockets	The pylons cannot be moved: utility hydraulics failed.
PYLON LIMIT	Rockets, Hellfires	The pylons cannot elevate far enough. Stops the weapon on the ground.
MSL NOT RDY	Hellfire (RF)	The radar missile is not powered and aligned.
TGT DATA?	Hellfire (RF)	TADS is your sight and no target has been handed over.
BACKSCATTER	Hellfire (SAL)	The seeker is not tracking your own laser spot.
PYLON ANGLE	Hellfires	The launcher is more than 10° from the launch angle.
RATE LIMIT	Hellfires	The aircraft is pitching, rolling or yawing faster than 30° a second.
ROLL LIMIT	Hellfires	Too much bank: 20°, or 10° for a laser missile fired lock-on after launch.
YAW LIMIT	Hellfires	The target is too far off the nose: 20° for RF, 7.5° for a laser missile fired lock-on after launch.

Pulling the trigger with no weapon actioned shows WEAPON? for a moment.

Weapon status

The bottom HAD line, right of centre, shows the actioned weapon’s status:

Weapon	Shows
Gun	ROUNDS 1200, or GUN FAIL / GUN JAM
Rockets	Type, mode and quantity, for example 6PD NORM 14; RTOF=08 until the last volley arrives; NO RKTS
Hellfires	Trajectory and missile mode, for example LO-NORM; HFTOF=12 counting down to impact; MSL LAUNCH

Emergency jettison

Emergency Jettisonunbound jettisons every wing store: pods, launchers and external tanks, station by station. It needs battery power. Use it to lose weight in an emergency.