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Fire Birds
The following weapons were used in the film Fire Birds (also known as Wings of the Apache):
M16A1 Rifle
During the mission near the end of the movie, U.S. Army soldiers can be seen carrying M16A1 rifles, though none are fired on-screen. The M16A1's are somewhat anachronistic, seeing as the film is set in the early 1990's, and the Army had transitioned over to the M16A2 by this time.
- there were still M16A1s in Army use, I remember seeing several pictures of them being used in Desert Storm --96.244.252.231 14:43, 31 May 2009 (UTC)
- Only the National Guard and i think the Military police had M16A1s during desert storm. But not frontline troops.-Oliveira 19:05, 7 June 2009 (UTC)
FIM-92A Stinger
After Chief Warrant Officer Brad Little (Tommy Lee Jones)'s helicopter is shot down, Chief Warant Officer Billy Lee Guthrie (Sean Young) lands her helicopter to assist him, and the two are attacked by an enemy fighter jet. Little then instructs her to remove one of the still-functioning FIM-92A Stinger missiles from his AH-64 Apache and reconfigure it to be shoulder-launched, allowing Guthrie to shoot down the enemy aircraft.
M911A1
There are several appearances in the film of the M1911A1, first in the hands of the drug cartels' mercenary pilot Eric Stoller (Bert Rhine) in briefing photos of him, then seen in holsters on South American & U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency operatives during the mission towards the end of the film. Little can also briefly be seen carrying one when he arrives in South America.
Smith & Wesson Model 15
Most of the U.S. helicopter pilots can be seen armed with Smith & Wesson Model 15 revolvers as their sidearms, another anachronism since Army chopper crews carry semi-automatics such as the M1911A1 or M9 Beretta as their issue sidearms. The model 15 was used by the airforce for many years until replaced by the M9. May still be on approved carry list. Airforce pilots have never been known to use 1911s.
M60 Machine Gun
At the beginning of the film, a member of an ill-fated D.E.A./South American anti-drug operation can be seen carrying an M60 machine gun while riding in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter which is shot down by Stoller.
Browning M3 Heavy Machine Gun
As the primary antagonist of the film, Eric Stoller flies a "Scorpion attack helicopter" (in reality a McDonnell Douglas MD 500 Defender) armed with a 2.75" rocket pod and a Browning M3 heavy machine gun in a SUU-12/A gun pod. Stoller uses this pod to shoot down Little's AH-64 Apache by knocking out the tail rotor and damages Chief Warrant Officer Jake Preston (Nicolas Cage)'s Apache, resulting in his gunner, Chief Warrant Officer Calvin Breaker (Bryan Kestner) being wounded when a round penetrates the cockpit.
GE M134 Minigun
At the beginning of the film, Preston can be seen flying an AH-1 Cobra armed with two nose-mounted GE M134 Miniguns. The Cobra proves to be no match for Stoller's Scorpion and Preston barely escapes alive. What's interesting is that this weapon configuration was only used on the original AH-1G Cobra and yet the Cobras appear to be the upgraded AH-1F model which replaced this armament with a single three-barreled 20mm rotary cannon.
BGM-71 TOW
In addition to the nose armament, Preston's Cobra is also armed with eight BGM-71 TOW missiles mounted in groups of four on the outboard pylons. These missiles are not fired though, as Preston has no chance to return fire during Stoller's ambush.
Uzi
There are several appearances of Uzi submachine guns in the film, primarily in the hands of South American operatives, as well as Stoller in a briefing photo.
Custom Mossberg 500
In one briefing photo, Eric Stoller can be seen carrying a Mossberg 500 shotgun customized with a side-folding stock, pistol grip, high-capacity magazine tube, and vertical foregrip.
- It's a Remington 870. Note the shape of the reciever and the lack of the safety on the tang. - Gunmaster45
