Army Air Corps ridicules Apache rescue scene in the Netflix hit show Hostage
Hostage, Netflix's political thriller starring Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy, has been met with critical acclaim – but not from the Army Air Corps.
The five-part series sees Jones play a British prime minister whose husband has been kidnapped, while Delpy is a French president who's being blackmailed.
Both women have been lauded for the quality of their acting – but the same cannot be said for the accuracy of the show, particularly one scene featuring an AH-64 Apache.
The Apache is an attack helicopter – in use with the British Army – and has a tandem cockpit for a crew of two.
In the show, the aircraft is being used to help rescue Dr Alex Anderson, played by Ashley Thomas, a member of Doctors Without Borders, who is kidnapped in French Guiana.
So far, so good – however, instead of offering just close air support, the Apache in the programme is meant to have been carrying several members of a French special forces team.
The intensity of the scene – for the viewing public – is whether or not the rescue will go ahead, as Delpy's character, President Vivienne Toussaint, has been told to call off the mission or face being blackmailed.
But for the Army Air Corps, the issue at stake was the number of seats in the aircraft.
"If anyone at @NetflixUK could send us the tech manual for an 8-passenger troop carrying Apache, we would love to see it!" 3 Regiment AAC posted on X.
"We've only ever managed to get two people in there. If you want to see a real gunship, let us know."
The British Army has 50 AH-64Es – the latest version of the Apache and what is possibly the best attack helicopter in the world.
But while Netflix made a faux pas with the French Guiana Apache rescue – and the fact that France doesn't even operate the Apache – the idea of a troop-carrying ground attack heli, while rare, is actually a thing.
The Mil Mi-24, which has the Nato reporting name of Hind, is a large helicopter gunship – but it's also capable of carrying eight troops.
Although troop-carrying helicopters have been adapted for an offensive role, there are no direct Western-designed dual-role counterparts to the Hind.
The dual-role concept is again rare, but not unheard of, with tanks.
The Israeli Merkava battle tank can carry up to 10 soldiers or walking wounded, with access through the rear door.
However, in practice, this feature is generally used to extract wounded soldiers rather than deploy troops on the battlefield.
This rear space is needed for ammo stowage, with no provision to adequately seat the occupants or stow their kit – let alone provide much in the way of comfort.
Nevertheless, IDF sources say the vehicle is capable of dropping off two fully armed troops without sacrificing any ammo.
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