Aircraft

Army, Oct 2002

The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Helicopter fills the armed-reconnaissance role for attack helicopter and air cavalry units. It is the only practical armed-reconnaissance aircraft in the Army inventory until RAH66 fielding begins early in the next decade. It is capable of performing reconnaissance, security, command and control, target acquisition/designation and defensive air combat missions.

The Kiowa Warrior adds armed-reconnaissance, light-attack and multipurpose light helicopter (MPLH) capabilities that permit rapid deployment to the basic OH58D Kiowa mission capabilities. The OH58D has a mast-mounted sight that houses a thermal-imaging system, low-light television and a laser range finder/designator. A highly accurate navigation system permits precise target location that can be handed off to other engagement systems via the airborne target handover system. The laser designator can provide autonomous designation for the laser Hellfire missile or remote designation for other laser-guided precision weapons.

The air-to-air Stinger provides security against threat aircraft. The armed retrofit program, begun in FY 1991, provides airto-ground weapons and other improvements to previously produced OH-58Ds.

The Army procured 411 Kiowa Warriors but has a current fleet size of 382.

A system safety enhancement program (SEP) began in 1997 to update a large portion of the Kiowa Warrior fleet with upgraded engines, improved master controller processor units (IMCPUs), crashworthy seats, cockpit air bags and a digitized mission equipment package. The SEP is retrofitting OH-58Ds to the latest configuration: Allison 250 C30R3 engines with full-authority, digital-engine control (FADEC); new processing systems to allow digital operations; an improved data modem (IDM); crash attenuating crew seats; and eventually, cockpit airbags. In addition, requirements for the digital battlefield continue to be incorporated to allow communication via the Tactical Internet. Participation in the April 2001 Division Capstone Exercise (DCX) first proved that the OH-58D can fight and communicate in the digital environment.

According to the 2000 Aviation Force Modernization Plan, 177 OH-58Ds have completed the SEP in FY 2001 with an additional 93 aircraft funded through FY 2005. In addition, a live-fire test and evaluation directed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense will be conducted to demonstrate survivability characteristics of the OH-58D. The Comanche is slated to begin replacing the Kiowa Warrior later this decade, and the Kiowa Warrior is projected to be retired by FY 2013.

The RAH-66 Comanche Helicopter is the Army's next-generation helicopter designed to perform the armed-reconnaissance and light-attack helicopter mission. It performs the armed-reconnaissance mission for attack helicopter and air cavalry units, significantly expanding the Army's ability to conduct reconnaissance operations in all battlefield environments, in adverse weather, day or night. The Comanche will protect the force with its advanced electro-optical sensors (EOS), millimeter-wave radar, aided target detection/classification and sensor/weapons integration. The EOS system (EOSS) provides a 40 percent increase in range and improved reliability by design. Its digital communications capacity will enhance the Army's ability to win the battlefield information war and interface with the joint surveillance target attack radar system (J-STARS) and other joint sensors and weapon platforms. The Comanche's EOSS is a leader in horizontal technology insertion by providing the same FLIR on multiple platforms. The EOSS shares some of the same technology (to the part number level) as the TADS Arrowhead and provides reduced costs, reduced design cycle time and lower program risk.