Country of origin |
United States |
Entered service |
1985 |
Crew |
2 men |
Dimensions and weight |
Length |
12.9 m |
Main rotor diameter |
10.67
m |
Height |
3.95
m |
Weight (empty) |
1.74 t |
Weight (maximum take off) |
2.5 t (?) |
Engines and performance |
Engines |
1 x Allison turbine |
Engine power |
650 shp |
Maximum speed |
240 km/h |
Cruising speed |
205 km/h |
Service ceiling |
4.58 km |
Range |
555 km |
Armament |
Cannon |
pod with 12.7 mm machine gun or 40 mm automatic
grenade launcher |
Missiles |
up to 4 x AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles or
up to 4 x FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles |
Rockets |
2 x Hydra 70 rocket pods with unguided rockets
in place of the missiles |
|
The OH-58D
Kiowa Warrior is a single engine
reconnaissance helicopter, developed by Bell. It represents a further
development of its predecessor, the
OH-58
Kiowa scout helicopter. It
is a result of the Army Helicopter Improvement Program or AHIP. The
first OH-58D prototype made its maiden flight in 1983. Deliveries
began in 1985, and the first deliveries to a Europe-based unit took
place in 1987. Under Operation Prime Chance, 15 OH-58Ds were
modified from 1987 for operations against Iranian fast patrol boats
in the Persian Gulf. These helicopters were fitted with hardpoint
for weapons. Provision was made for
Stinger air-to-air missiles and
Hellfire anti-tank guided missiles in addition to 12.7 mm
machine-gun pods and rocket launchers. These helicopters were
designated as OH-58D(I) Kiowa Warrior. Later all previous OH-58Ds
have been upgraded to this standard. By 1998 a total of 424
helicopters, including some older OH-58, were upgraded to the Kiowa
Warrior standard. As of 2013 a total 368 of these helicopters were
in service. This reconnaissance helicopter has saw action in Panama,
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Taiwan is
the only export operator of new-build full-standard OH-58Ds,
receiving 26 examples from 1993. Saudi Arabia operates 15 of the
simplified Model 406CS Combat Scout variant.
Produced by Bell
Helicopter Textron, the OH-58D differs from previous model by four rotor
blade instead of two, advanced avionics and Mast Mounted Sight (MMS)
system. The MMS system comprises
from thermal imaging system, television system, laser rangefinder and
designator system.
Alongside scouting missions,
the OH-58D helicopter also assumed other
capabilities, such as field artillery support, by designating target coordinates.
It can also support
AH-1 Cobra or
AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, performing recon missions.
Also the Kiowa Warrior can independently support ground forces with
its firepower.
The mast
mounted sight system allows Kiowa Warrior to operate in day/night
and adverse weather conditions with limited vision. The MMS has a
long-range target acquisition at a range of about 10 km. It rotates 180 degree left
and right and is gyro-stabilized. The MMS is controlled by
the co-pilot, while the main pilot is fully occupied by flying the
helicopter.
The OH-58D
Kiowa Warrior has improved flying capabilities due to four-bladed
main rotor, that is made from highly survivable composite materials
and advanced avionics. It is highly
mobile and maneuverable helicopter, that can be loaded and
off-loaded from various transport means and be ready for the mission
in minimal time as well.
The Kiowa Warrior
has two hardpoints and can use different
armament systems. It can be armed with podded 12.7 mm machine gun,
Hydra 70 mm
unguided rocket pods,
Hellfire anti-tank guided missiles, and even
Stinger air-to-air missiles. A combination of various weapons can be
fitted depending on mission requirements.
The OH-58D
is fast and maneuverable. The Kiowa Warrior
can cover behind trees or hills when observing the battlefield. It
can transfer data to friendly command posts using secured channel,
or attack the targets itself.
This helicopter is highly
survivable due to various countermeasure kits, such as jammer for infrared seekers, radar warning receivers,
laser warning
receiver, and inherent infrared suppression.
The OH-58D
Kiowa Warrior was the first helicopter, fitted with protection
system against wires. It is a sharp knife-like rod, mounted above
the cockpit. It protects the helicopter, once it hits the wires. It
is worth noting that various wires, such as electricity, telephone
and other pose a great danger to helicopters that a re flying at low
altitudes. After testing this system on Kiowa Warrior, manufacturers
began to use this system on other helicopters as well.
During the
last decade or so the US Army was looking for a replacement for this helicopter.
Due to the age of helicopter it becomes increasingly harder to
upgrade worn-out airframes. Newly-built airframes were required. The
first attempt was to replace it with the
RAH-66 Comanche. However its development programme was cancelled
in 2004. A proposed
Bell ARH-70 Arapaho was cancelled due to cost
overruns. The future of the third Armed Aerial Scout programme is
uncertain due to limited funding.
In 2016 the
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior was retired from the US Army after 33 years of
service. This venerable helicopter made its last flight as a
farewell, on April 15, 2016. It has been replaced by a more advanced
OH-58F. The upgraded OH-58F are planned to
remain in service until 2036.
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Article by ZAAL TCHKUASELI
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