MD Helicopters delivers first six armed MD 530F scout attack helicopters to the Afghan Air Force

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World Defense & Security Industry News - MD Helicopters
 
 
MD Helicopters delivers first six armed MD 530F scout attack helicopters to the Afghan Air Force
 
MD Helicopters announced on Friday March 20 the arrival of the first six armed MD 530F Cayuse Warrior Scout Attack Helicopters to the Afghan Air Force in Kabul, Afghanistan. Delivered within six months from the October 2014 award, MDHI has solidified its position as a world leader in near-term delivery of light single-engine gunships, custom-configured, to meet the emergent and ongoing mission requirements of U.S. and Allied forces.
     
MD Helicopters announced on Friday March 20 the arrival of the first six armed MD 530F Cayuse Warrior Scout Attack Helicopters to the Afghan Air Force in Kabul, Afghanistan. Delivered within six months from the October 2014 award, MDHI has solidified its position as a world leader in near-term delivery of light single-engine gunships, custom-configured, to meet the emergent and ongoing mission requirements of U.S. and Allied forces.
Afghan Air Force's pilots training on MD 530F Cayuse Warrior Scout Attack Helicopters
(Credit: US Army)
     
MD 500 Series helicopters have been a staple in U.S. and foreign military fleets for decades,” says Lynn Tilton, Owner and Chief Executive for MD Helicopters. “I and my team have worked tirelessly to exceed the expectations of our U.S. Army and Partner Nation customers and deliver, for the first time, a production gunship in less than 6 months with full AWR. I am thrilled to see the Cayuse Warrior arrive safely in Kabul to begin its service with the Afghan Air Force, and I am indelibly proud of my team on the ground for their feat of rapid build and delivery to meet an urgent and compelling need.

In response to the drawdown of coalition forces in the region, MD Helicopters developed a purposebuilt close attack helicopter capability that is intended to not only meet, but exceed the capability requirement identified by ISAF-A (the International Security Assistance Force-Afghanistan) for light scout attack helicopters. These MD 530F Cayuse Warrior gunships increase the fire capability of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces by nearly six-times for Fighting Season 2015.

An additional six MD 530F Scout Attack helicopters will be active in Afghanistan in Summer 2015. Under the current contract, the Afghan Air Force fleet will include 17 MD 530F Cayuse Warrior gunships by early next year.

The MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopter will be armed with FN HMP400 LCC (links and case collector) coaxial airborne weapon system developed by FN Herstal. The machine gun pod features .50cal FN M3P machine gun. The weapon system supports all types of 12.7mmx99mm NATO ammunition rounds. The helicopter will also be attached with Mace Aviation-developed Extended Range Weapons Wing (ER2W), which has four weapons stations and a 35 gallon internal fuel tank.
     
MD Helicopters announced on Friday March 20 the arrival of the first six armed MD 530F Cayuse Warrior Scout Attack Helicopters to the Afghan Air Force in Kabul, Afghanistan. Delivered within six months from the October 2014 award, MDHI has solidified its position as a world leader in near-term delivery of light single-engine gunships, custom-configured, to meet the emergent and ongoing mission requirements of U.S. and Allied forces.
Unarmed MD 530F Cayuse Warrior Scout Attack Helicopters
     
MD Helicopters also announced on March 20 that it has been awarded a firmfixed-price 5-month contract modification for logistics support of twelve additional MD530F aircraft. This award, valued at $31,605,244, will serve as a bridge contract for the expanded MD 530F fleet in service with the Afghan Air Force since 2011, and will support an aggressive increase in operational tempo (OPTEMPO).

This contract is effective with the first delivery of new MD 530F delivered on March 17, 2015, and has an estimated completion date of August 30, 2015. “The current MD 530F fleet in service with the Afghan Air Force has logged nearly 6,000 flight hours and maintained operational availability of better than 98%, since we first began providing contracted logistics support in 2011,” said MD Helicopters’ Owner and Chief Executive Officer Lynn Tilton. “This new award will allow MD to continue to support top-tier operational readiness in the face of increasing requirements from escalating threat levels.

The CLS contract provides for continuous maintenance and support services, including an initial spares support package, for the twelve (12) new MD 530F helicopters contracted through Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal in October 2014. This CLS contract is a modification to the CLS contract previously awarded to MDHI by Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal in 2011.