Original subtitles

He is Col. Helmut Kruger

who ran an extermination squad at Dachau.

I wonder what Archangel would want for such a weapon?

It’s not getting Kruger out of here

into Israel alive that’s troubling you, is it?

It’s going up against Archangel.

- Fire the missile! - There’s no way to escape.

We got a pair on our tail closing fast.

File A56-7W.

Airwolf. Top secret.

A Mach 1 Plus attack helicopter

with the most advanced weapons arsenal in the air.

Sought by governments friendly and foreign,

Airwolf is hidden somewhere in the western wilderness

by its test pilot, Stringfellow Hawke,

to be returned to the US Government

only if his brother, St. John,

an MIA in Vietnam, can be found.

The deputy director of the intelligence agency

that developed Airwolf,

is Michael Coldsmith Briggs III.

Code name: Archangel.

Believed to covertly provide

classified information and support to Hawke

in exchange for flying the chopper

on missions of national interest.

Stringfellow Hawke is 34,

reclusive, sensitive, and a loner.

Known to associate with his only friend

and mentor, Dominic Santini.

Together, Santini and Hawke fly Airwolf,

capable of speeds rivaling the fastest jets

and backed by unmatched firepower,

Airwolf is a weapon too dangerous

to be left in unenlightened hands.

Finding Airwolf is your first priority.

End of file.

Bonjour, mademoiselle.

We could have survived for a week

on a square of chocolate

- as rich as those, Colonel. - What?

You remember Dachau, don’t you, Kruger?

My name is Hans Dauber.

Keep your hands by your sides.

I intend to return you to Israel for trial.

But if I must,

I will kill you here and now.

You’re making a terrible mistake.

If so, I will apologize.

And the State of Israel will buy you

a new bag of chocolate.

- Who are you? - Lebow. Harry Lebow.

But perhaps you know me better as "The Dove."

Check oxygen and pressurization.

We’re at 4,000 feet. What do you got against regular air?

- We’re going up. - Oh, how far?

We’ll find out.

Uh-oh.

Oxygen and pressure, OK.

Going up.

10.

15...

25.

We’re at 30,000 already.

I need full power.

Turbos.

50,000.

55.

60.

Am I at full power?

103%.

80.

84,000.

Hey.

Look, it’s nighttime out.

I need full turbo power.

This thing’s almost a spaceship.

She wasn’t built to be a spaceship.

We’re gonna flounder.

86,000.

84,000.

80, 75.

We gotta get back down to some thicker air.

This cockpit is lit up like Broadway.

Call out when you get to 40,000.

Why?

We use the turbos again then.

Is that the only way to get back control?

Yup. It’s the only way.

Coming down.

50, 48, 45.

Coming in on 40.

- 40,000. - Turbos.

Turbos.

30.

20.

10...

We’re going in, String.

Five, four, three, two...

- Re-engage rotors. - Re-engage rotors.

Now would you like to tell me why we did that?

I just wanted to see if it could be done.

Ah, you beauty.

You hit the heights today, didn’t you, sweetheart, huh?

Ah.

Hey, quiet.

What is it?

Somebody’s here.

Your senses...

...are even more acute

than they’re reported to be, Mr. Hawke.

So is my aim. Step into the light.

Of course.

Just please remember,

we are in the Valley of the Gods,

not the Valley of Death.

I’m alone.

I’m not armed,

and I’m really not very dangerous.

Search her.

Fine.

Uh, well, uh...

Where would you like to begin, Mr. Santini?

Well, um...

Yes?

Um-- Oh, come on.

Who are you?

I’m Sarah Lebow.

How’d you get here?

I flew in like a dove.

Well, what is it you want?

I want justice.

Whose?

The Bible’s.

Excuse me, my hands are cold.

I’ve never been big on

meting out biblical justice.

That’s all right.

The State of Israel will do that for you.

But I need you and your machine here

to bring a sadistic killer to trial.

Oh, and you too of course, Mr. Santini,

I-I’d be most happy if you would also come along.

Oh, well, thank you.

And just where is it

that you are welcoming me to go along to?

To Paraguay.

That’s where Helmut Kruger’s hiding.

Never heard of him.

Perhaps the name, Hans Dauber?

Yeah, I heard of him.

He supplies half the third world with arms.

Yes. But he is also Colonel Helmut Kruger

who ran an extermination squad at Dachau.

Whoever he is,

kidnapping a man from a neutral country

is not my normal line of business.

It was my father’s line of business

until Helmut Kruger killed him.

Sorry.

That’s all right.

I’m not here for your sympathy.

Excuse me, but why us?

I mean, there are hundreds of bounty hunters

out there you could use.

Look.

Kruger literally lives in a fortress.

He is well-armed, he is well-protected,

and the government does nothing.

I need Airwolf.

I need Airwolf to get me in there

and to bring him out.

How do you even know about it?

I guess I’m my father's daughter.

I’ve been his researcher ever since

he discovered that I could type.

Together we brought--

we brought 23 Nazi war criminals to trial.

And how many of them did you personally capture?

None.

That’s what I thought.

Come on,

we will go get Airwolf another lair.

No, please wait. Look, I found Airwolf.

Perhaps I can help you find your brother, St. John.

Code name: The Dove.

I liked him.

He was killed in Paris three months ago.

What killed him?

A six-inch blade and a lifestyle.

He was very charming, very effective.

Unlike some creatures I know.

So, you knew Lebow too, huh?

Everybody in the business knew him.

I never heard of him.

Well, that’s because you’re not

really in the business.

So you call flying Airwolf for the Firm

- "not in the business"? - of course,

you’re very effective in the field.

I’d trust you with anything, once the action starts.

I don’t need a testimonial.

Well, you know me. I always start out nice.

So, what’s your point?

You’re unbending, Hawke, unswerving.

You think there’s a right and a wrong,

and that the right should always win.

Not so.

There’s gray and beige.

There’s a lot of almost and compromise,

political maneuvering and intrigue.

The people who do that are in the business.

Well, you still haven’t made your point.

Forget about helping Sarah Lebow.

Let this Kruger thing go.

She knows where Airwolf is. Doesn’t that concern you?

We’ll arrange a new hiding place

for Airwolf.

Then you’ll know where Airwolf is.

Yes.

No, thanks.

Hawke,

I don’t want you to go after Kruger.

Why?

It could...

create difficulties.

Are you tied in with him?

Like I said, not everything

is black and white.

I go after Kruger, I go against you.

Nothing personal.

Yeah.

Never is.

This wine is very good.

We’re all ready, sir.

Good.

Gentlemen, if you glance into the courtyard here,

you will see the latest American

surface-to-air missile system.

Code name: Thor.

It is unique, in that

its four simultaneously fired missiles

have both heat-seeking

as well as radar-targeting systems.

Two missiles cover

the higher altitude and two the lower.

And the penetrating aircraft

might be able to evade one,

or two, or even three missiles,

but, never four,

which makes Thor the ultimate defense weapon

at $10 million only a unit.

I’ve heard such claims before.

I’m not going to invest millions in claims.

We are not expecting you to.

I have prepared a demonstration.

Ah, yes.

A pleasant lunch, excellent wine,

and now we watch

as you blow up a radio-controlled drone.

I would never insult your intelligence

or your purchasing power with drones.

Prepare to fire the missiles.

Three, two, one...

fire.

Are you trying to tell me

there is a pilot in that plane?

One of the very best of the west German Luftwaffe.

Why would a man do such a thing?

Obviously, because he feels

he can win against Thor.

And if he can,

I will give him a million dollars.

He’s evaded the upper missiles.

Now he’s simply being forced

into the track of the lower.

He’s evaded the third.

Yes, but...

Well, gentlemen,

if you would care to start your bidding,

Mr. Minter will be happy to record your offers.

Please, gentlemen, step right over this way.

Oh, why so glum, Mr. Hawke?

Oh, I’m just not big on carrying passengers.

But, Mr. Hawke, I am excellent company.

I sing. I play the guitar.

I can show you points of interest

during the flight.

Thank you.

Such as?

There are two munitions centers

right here, in your own country.

In Texas, to be exact.

Now, the deed holders have American names.

But the real owner is Kruger.

Yeah, I heard a TV commentator

do about an hour on that guy.

He’s got quite an operation.

He could create a war, and then supply

both sides with weapons.

So is Kruger you really want,

or the weapons he’s storing?

Oh, no. Only Kruger.

Why doesn’t your government just send in

a commando team to take him out?

Because we cannot afford an international incident.

You’ll probably get blamed anyway.

Finger-pointing, that’s normal.

All our flights are monitored.

And they won’t be able to prove anything.

Hey, you’ve worked this out pretty well.

But what if we fail?

Well, if we fail,

then no one will know, will they?

That’s your answer?

That’s my answer.

Well, I figured we might as well look

on the bright side of things, eh?

How come I don’t like what you’re doing,

but I’m enjoying it?

Because very much like my father,

you have a zest for laughter, Mr. Santini.

Tet’s still here.

Doesn’t mean anything.

Hawke leaves him alone for weeks at a time.

Ah. Who feeds him?

Feeds himself.

He’s gonna do it, isn't he?

I’m afraid so.

Damn it.

Kruger is sitting on one of the most

sophisticated weapons systems

in the world,

and Hawke is gonna go up against it.

We could warn him.

No, we can’t.

Maybe just a little?

This is the most amazing flight

I’ve ever been on.

A squadron of these could rule the Middle East.

Well, she’s one of a kind.

I know.

That’s why we're here together.

How’s our course?

Still south.

Be off the coast of Baja, Mexico,

in about, uh, 20 minutes.

We’ll fly low till we turn inland

for that fuel pickup.

A-ha. 100 bucks I know who that is.

No bet.

Morning, Michael.

How’s the fishing?

I advised you to stay clear of this thing.

You headed for Paraguay?

I’ll listen. You talk.

It’s not too late to turn back

and let me handle this thing.

How?

It’s on a need-to-know basis.

I can’t run a finder beam on a one-word response.

You’re forcing my hand.

I don’t want to line up against you.

- I think you know that. - Yeah.

Then turn back. There’s too much involved.

You’re headed into an international incident

that I won’t be able to help you with.

Well, maybe if you would filled me in.

You have no need to know.

Take care, Michael.

You too.

This is priority one.

We need an F-15 immediately,

and a series of midair refuels.

I want to thank you.

For what? I haven’t done anything yet.

But you kept your word.

I expect you will.

Mm-hmm.

Do you know anything about my family?

I mean, other than what Archangel told you?

Not much.

I don’t want to know any more than I do.

Why? Are you afraid that someday

you might weep at my funeral?

No, I wasn’t planning on it.

Well, are you planning on

smiling anytime in the near future?

Because if so,

I’ll have any medical attention

you should need in case your skin should crack,

or your ears should fall off.

Uh, excuse me,

was that static or, uh,

should I get the bandages ready?

He laughed, Dominic.

His lips moved, and yes,

I even saw some teeth.

Oh, and Dominic,

I believe he has a dimple.

You’re sitting in the ejection seat.

Don’t tempt me.

Don’t let him bluff you, Sarah.

You haven’t got any intention at all

of letting me have any peace, do you?

Absolutely not.

This El Salvador group wants to know

if we’ll accept English pounds

instead of US currency.

Discount it at 10%

below the lowest money exchange quotes.

I already told them 15.

We’re negotiating right now at the 12% level.

Then you can have half of everything above 12%.

A bonus.

Right this way, gentlemen.

As I was telling you,

this compound goes back to 1879,

originally constructed by the Paloma family

when they immigrated from Spain.

This, at one time, was the wine cellar,

but as you see, it has been converted

to an ordinance supply facility.

Do you know what you are seeing here?

Your stockpile.

Not quite a stockpile.

The ability to determine the future of the world.

Colonel, your ego is amazing.

Certainly, you have an extensive arsenal here.

One of the largest and the most sophisticated I’ve ever seen, but...

you cannot compete with the major powers of the world.

I don’t compete with them. They compete with each other.

I’m a middleman. an arranger.

They develop, I sell,

and collect a percentage.

I still do not see your point.

What if I did not sell this

defense system to you?

What if I sold it to your cousins

on your eastern borders instead?

You see?

I determine...

which side gains the advantage,

which side wins.

Look at what six Exocet missiles

nearly did to the British Navy

in the Falklands.

If I had sold

Argentina a dozen...

How close are we, Dom?

Less than 10 miles.

Let’s go in for a low-level scan.

How much can you spot with your scanners?

Uh, weapons, personnel,

general building locations.

Start the scan, forward area,

left to right.

Got it.

We’re approaching some buildings.

Hey!

Our beams are coming back scrambled.

Nobody knows our frequencies,

except...

I’m going in for a closer look.

You want the searchlights?

When I call for them.

Now.

That’s Kruger.

And Archangel.

Flare.

- Go back. - I can’t.

I’d have to fight him.

But he’s fighting you.

Dom, give me the turbos.

Turbos.

Check to see if we’re being radar-scanned.

Checking.

Hawke, we could have got him.

I can’t shoot Archangel.

I could have.

This is insanity.

You’re giving Kruger time to prepare.

We should be attacking that fortress

instead of staying here, sipping tea.

- Uh, coffee. - Whatever.

I thought you wanted Kruger

to stand trial for his crimes.

You know I do.

Well, going in with Airwolf’s guns blazing

is not the way to accomplish that.

It’s not getting Kruger out of here

and into Israel alive that’s troubling you, is it?

It’s going up against Archangel.

What is it?

What’s this hold he has over you?

I thought it was the other way around.

Look, I know that Airwolf belonged to the Firm

before you took it.

But whatever Archangel has going with Kruger

is far more important than even Airwolf,

or he wouldn’t have given Kruger our scanning frequencies.

Look, we could have been blown out of the sky last night.

Those weapons they fired at Airwolf last night

wouldn’t penetrate it. Archangel knew that.

Perhaps.

But Archangel would kill you

if he had to.

So would you.

Nobody’s dead,

and nobody has to die.

You are naive, Dominic.

Oh, no, I am not.

Really? What?

- You have a plan? - No.

But I am sure the "spotless wonder" has.

Obviously, to keep Kruger out of my hands.

Oh, at one time maybe,

but not now.

See, Archangel knows that String is here.

He also knows that that boy doesn’t give up

once he sets his mind onto something.

Well, then what do we do?

Exactly what we have been doing,

wait for Archangel to call.

Why didn’t you tell me?

You didn’t ask.

You could have warned me

about that helicopter.

I gave you their scanning frequencies.

But you didn’t tell me that it was

as fast as a jet

and armor-plated.

Must have slipped my mind.

Don’t you get smart with me.

Nor you with me.

Airwolf is important to the Firm.

I won’t have it shot down.

And me?

You’re important too.

You seem to have forgotten that.

If I had, you would be on Airwolf right now

on your way to Israel.

I could kill you.

Of course.

But then, where would you get

Thor missiles to sell?

You are not the only supplier

of missiles in the world, Archangel.

No, but I am the only one who can supply you with systems

as sophisticated as Thor.

What do you propose?

I’ll need a vehicle.

To do what?

Rendezvous with Airwolf.

Call them off.

Very well.

But if you can’t,

I shall have to seek them out

and destroy it.

Give me 24 hours.

Not one minute more, hmm?

He looks disturbed.

He has good reason to be.

He’s trying to call off that helicopter.

- Can he do that? - I don’t know.

But it doesn’t matter.

I will use him to lead our air force friends to it.

Have a beacon installed in his jeep,

and be sure that it’s on a frequency

that the helicopter can’t detect.

Yes, sir.

And, Minter,

hold back a Thor unit on tomorrow’s shipment.

That’s a loss of $10 million, Colonel.

Three of it, pure profit.

My dear friend, money is useless

if you’re dead.

Yes, sir.

Hawke, give me a location.

It’s time for us to have a face-to-face.

Hawke, do you read me?

Hawke?

Do you read me?

See anything?

Nothing for ten clicks.

He’s alone, String.

You stay on the scope.

I’m not going anywhere.

Well, I have not seen you

since I was a little girl.

A very beautiful little girl.

I was sorry to hear about your father.

Thank you.

The wars have not been gentle with you.

I can do the last half of my life on one eye.

The eye patch is most charming.

After all, it is almost a national symbol

in my country.

But the cane,

the cane makes you look as if you are asking

for sympathy.

Hmm.

You are as stubborn as Hawke.

Go home, Sarah,

and take Sir Galahad here with you.

Kruger killed my father.

I am not going back to Israel without him.

You said he would come with a plan.

He did.

Didn’t you, Michael?

The only plan I have, you all are ruining.

What is more important than bringing a butcher

like Kruger to justice?

Saving lives, many lives.

Most of them in your country.

We got company,

coming in fast from the north.

I knew I couldn’t trust that Nazi.

You keep her here.

Wait!

I got a pair of phantoms

20 miles out, closing fast.

What’s their armament?

Sparrows.

I sure hate going against American-built planes and missiles.

Well, that might be just what saves us.

They’re on the deck and coming fast.

Check the frequency

our sparrows are set to and jam them.

Yeah, but what if theirs are set on

a different frequency?

Then we’re in trouble.

They’ve launched their missiles.

Jamming, I hope.

They’re still closing.

Vary the frequency slightly.

Hey, String, I think these missiles

are locked on each other.

It’s funny.

If those missiles hadn’t been American,

we’d have had it.

Nice going, String.

Yep.

So he destroyed the interceptor, huh?

Yes, sir.

Incredible.

I wonder what Archangel would want

for such a weapon, hmm?

Archangel, he is obviously running with them now.

Yes, you’re quite right. I could never trust him.

That helicopter,

it’ll come back now, won’t it?

I certainly hope so.

Even in little pieces

I could find something of value.

You can’t go zooming into a foreign country

and attack the residence of one of their nationals,

no matter who he is.

Unless, I’m on a mission for the Firm.

Damn it, Hawke, there are innocent people in there.

In the middle of a munitions bunker?

You’ll all be killed.

Ah, he cares.

What’s gonna kill us, Michael?

Kruger has Thor missiles.

Why, that’s the hottest air-missile system in the US arsenal.

The government doesn’t even allow its allies

to have them. How could Kruger

get a hold of such weapons?

Michael arranged it.

Didn’t you, Michael?

Yeah. Sort of.

You put a weapon system like that

in the hands of a man like Kruger?

Who are his buyers?

Iranians.

I don’t think he deserved that.

He deserves to be shot.

I’ve got an idea. He deserves a medal for ingenuity.

If they didn’t buy from Kruger,

they’d have to buy from the Russians.

And Russian missiles would be a whole lot

harder to defend against.

I don’t understand.

There is no defense against a Thor System.

There is, if you know

its operating frequencies.

Thor operates on randomly selected,

constantly changing frequencies.

There’s no way on earth to jam them.

So, you built in a self-destruct system.

Since you’ve figured it out,

there’s no loss in telling.

It’s an integral part of the guidance system.

All an American or Israeli plane has to do

is punch a button on a little black box.

You put the hottest missile system in the world

into the hands of people who can’t use them.

They won’t know that until it’s too late.

Ah, I’ve gotta hand it to you, Mike.

Now that’s brilliant.

Thank you.

So we can go in after Kruger.

He cannot stop us.

He’d be a fool if he didn’t hold back

at least one Thor unit

to defend himself against you.

So what? All you have to do

is push the button on that little black box.

Which we don’t have.

We just might not need it.

The money’s been transferred to your Swiss account,

$100 million.

Very good.

Colonel, you told me yourself,

money is no good if you’re dead.

Please. Let’s leave now.

Let’s get out of here before the helicopter comes back.

Aren’t you in the least bit curious

how he defends himself against the indefensible?

No.

You’re a coward?

Yes.

At least you are honest.

I like that quality about you.

Well, then-- then you’ll let me go?

No.

Look, I have to go in after Kruger.

Archangel will do that.

Kruger didn’t kill Archangel’s father.

He killed mine.

I thought you wanted him to stand trial?

I do.

You want revenge.

You want to kill him face-to-face.

How would you know?

Because I’ve been there. I’ve done it.

I wouldn’t want you to live with that

or die trying.

I’m not going to die.

Don’t ever say that.

And don’t promise what you can’t keep.

What woman did?

All of them.

He’s coming.

We’re a little ahead of schedule.

Well, do you intend to park here and take up sunbathing?

Yes.

For about three minutes.

You’re beginning to sound like Hawke.

No one’s ever accused me of that before.

I’m not sure whether that’s a curse

or a compliment.

I don’t know either.

I’ll have to think about that.

No, don’t.

You’d only be wasting more of your time,

and you’ve already wasted the most wonderful part

of your life.

What about my father?

Did he waste his life, too?

He had his cause. He had his purpose.

Yes, he did.

But things occurred that gave him no choice.

Hawke has no choice, either.

Until he finds his brother.

Then it’s all over.

Maybe.

You’re not going any further.

This is where you get out.

Sure.

You’re not going.

Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?

You’re not going to shoot me.

Ow!

You shot me!

I just nicked you.

But if you don’t hand over those keys,

I’ll nick something more vital.

You actually shot me!

The keys, please.

From right there.

Thank you.

He makes it too easy. Fire at will.

Fire the missiles!

Here they come.

All four at once.

20,000.

Give me two sun bursts.

He’s got two down.

But the two most deadly to go.

We got a pair on our tail closing fast.

- You got them. - I got one.

There’s only one left!

But there is no way to escape it.

- We got ten seconds, String. - Yeah.

Seven seconds.

Five seconds.

Two.

Kruger.

Don’t do it, Sarah.

Don’t do it.

If it doesn’t heal by the trial,

you can tell everyone it was a dueling scar.

If you keep this up, sir,

the Firm’s gonna have to clone parts of you.

You like your job, Marella?

You know, I-I still can’t figure out how it happened.

I mean, by the time you got to the fortress,

the shooting had stopped.

Well, uh, you see, it was like this.

We were-- I, uh--

Well, Dominic, it-- it was my fault.

You see, he asked me to get out

and I wouldn’t go and, uh,

it gave a sniper enough time to get a shot at us.

A sniper?

I could have sworn these are powder burns.

Would anybody like another drink?

Hey, for once, you’re talking my language.

- This way. - Thank you.

- Hello, boy. - Let’s drink.

You shot his ear?

He just wouldn’t take me seriously.

What’s so funny?