ARES Twin Avocet Ultralift

This is an ultra-heavy lift helicopter developed from the ARES Avocet, intended as a sky-crane type system for ferrying heavy equipment and cargo behind lines and for construction-type duty. It uses portions of the fore fuselage and the powerplants and rotor assemblies of the Avocet. The twin sets of intermeshing rotors are connected via a strengthened and relatively wide spine along with support beams, trusses, and load bearing systems. Fuel is stored along the upper surface of the spine in several tanks and in a large aft tank between the two powerplants.

Each powerplant assembly (four in total) is mounted vertically (hence the rather lengthy pods for each powerplant) in order to reduce the size of the transmission and increase power transfer efficiency, and also reduces weight. The four winglets allow for the landing gear to be placed further from the spine, allowing for wider cargo, and are fully plumbed to carry external fuel tanks.

This specific image has a rough field modification done by servicemen in Kak Khemet. Using shipping containers, excess miniguns, and a ball turret/tail gunner set from some old Khemeti bomber, they fashioned a backwoods gunship to use against the comically inept Khemeti military. Otherwise, such a gunship-type cargo would likely never be used in any conventional combat due to the helicopter's vulnerability to ground fire.