The Army’s OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover that includes moving its distinctive top-mounted “beach ball” sensor to the aircraft’s nose — all the better for peering down at enemy forces in urban environments.Not an unexpected development...the mast was designed for the European fight against the Soviet Union. Thankfully Army helicopter tactics have evolved away from that.
Lt. Col. Mathew Hannah, the Army’s Kiowa project manager, said the upgrades, which cost $4 million each, are under way, with the first modified Kiowa scheduled to fly in April.
Hannah did not comment on a recent Reuters report that suggested the Pentagon may spend $6 billion to $8 billion on a replacement for the Kiowa, but he said the upgrades will significantly extend the life of an aircraft that’s been neglected in recent years because it was, until recently, marked for retirement.
The next issue for the Kiowa community is to finally acknowledge that they are no longer a recon asset and now a light attack platform.
UAVs have taken on the scouting role and Kiowa is now doing what it has always done but only full time now...fighting and killing the bad guys. Once Big Army accepts that as fact then Big Army can work on a REAL replacement for the airplane. Until then all the talk about a next gen helicopter is nothing more than wheel spinning.
The Army should keep the OH-58F as its LAAS until 2025/30 and then replace it with something like the S-97(X-2 tech).To buy a diferent helicopter today like the AH-72 is just a waste of money.It just isnt much improvement over the current Kiowa.
ReplyDeleteNow with the S-97 you will have the speed of a turboprop airplane and the flexibility of a helicopter...