Ten years ago on this
date, 22 July 2003, two of Saddam Hussein’s sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein were
both killed in a military assassination. I will post the Weapon of the
Fortnight with some Wikipedia to learn more about one of the vehicles used in
attack.
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An OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in action during the Iraq War, taking off from FOB MacKenzie in October 2004.
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The
Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, military
helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. Bell
Helicopter manufactured the OH-58 for the United States Army based on its Model
206A JetRanger helicopter. The OH-58 has been in continuous use by the U.S.
Army since 1969.
The
latest model, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, is primarily operated in an
armed reconnaissance role in support of ground troops. The OH-58 has been exported
to Austria, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia. It has
also been produced under license in Australia.
Role
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Observation/scout
helicopter
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National origin
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United
States
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Manufacturer
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Bell
Helicopter
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First flight
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Bell
206A: 10 January 1966
OH-58D: 6 October 1983 OH-58F: 26 April 2013 |
Introduction
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May
1969
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Status
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In
service
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Primary users
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United
States Army
Australian Army Republic of China Army Royal Saudi Land Forces |
Produced
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1966–1989
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Number built
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2,200
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Unit cost
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OH-58D:
US$4.9 million (1990)
OH-58D KW: US$6.7 million (1990) KW retrofit: US$1.3 million (1990) |
Developed from
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Bell
206
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Development
On 14 October 1960, the United
States Navy asked 25 helicopter manufacturers on behalf of the Army for
proposals for a Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). Bell Helicopter entered the
competition along with 12 other manufacturers, including Hiller Aircraft and Hughes
Tool Co., Aircraft Division. Bell submitted the D-250 design, which
would be designated as the YHO-4. On 19 May 1961, Bell and Hiller were
announced as winners of the design competition.
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YOH-4A LOH in flight.
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Light Observation
Helicopter (LOH)
Bell developed the D-250 design into the Model
206 aircraft, redesignated as YOH-4A in 1962, and produced five
prototype aircraft for the Army's test and evaluation phase. The first
prototype flew on 8 December 1962. The YOH-4A also became known as the Ugly
Duckling in comparison to the other contending aircraft. Following a flyoff
of the Bell, Hughes and Fairchild-Hiller prototypes, the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was
selected in May 1965.
When the YOH-4A was rejected by the Army, Bell went
about solving the problem of marketing the aircraft. In addition to the image
problem, the helicopter lacked cargo space and only provided cramped quarters
for the planned three passengers in the back. The solution was a fuselage
redesigned to be more sleek and aesthetic, adding 16 cubic feet (0.45 m3)
of cargo space in the process. The redesigned aircraft was designated as the Model
206A, and Bell President Edwin J. Ducayet named it the JetRanger
denoting an evolution from the popular Model 47J Ranger.
In 1967, the Army reopened the LOH competition for
bids because Hughes Tool Co. Aircraft Division could not meet the contractual
production demands. Bell resubmitted for the program using the Bell 206A.
Fairchild-Hiller failed to resubmit their bid with the YOH-5A, which they had
successfully marketed as the FH-1100. In the end, Bell underbid Hughes to win
the contract and the Bell 206A was designated as the OH-58A. Following the U.S.
Army's naming convention for helicopters, the OH-58A was named Kiowa in honor
of the Native American tribe.
Advanced Scout
Helicopter
In
the 1970s, the U.S. Army began evaluating the need to improve the capabilities
of their scout aircraft. The OH-58A lacked the power for operations in areas
that exposed the aircraft to high altitude and hot temperatures, areas where
the ability to acquire targets was a critical deficiency in the tactical
warfare capabilities of Army aviation.
The
power shortcoming caused other issues as the Army anticipated the AH-64A's
replacement of the venerable AH-1 in the Attack battalions of the Army. The
Army began shopping the idea of an Aerial Scout Program to industry as a
prototype exercise to stimulate the development of advanced technological
capabilities for night vision and precision navigation equipment. The stated
goals of the program included prototypes that would:
...possess an extended target acquisition range capability by means
of a long-range stabilized optical subsystem for the observer, improved
position location through use of a computerized navigation system, improved
survivability by reducing aural, visual, radar, and infrared signatures, and an
improved flight performance capability derived from a larger engine to provide
compatibility with attack helicopters.
In
early March 1974, the Army created a special task force at Fort Knox to develop
the system requirements for the Aerial Scout Helicopter program, and in 1975
the task force had formulated the requirements for the Advanced Scout
Helicopter (ASH) program. The requirements were formulated around an aircraft
capable of performing in day, night, and adverse weather and compatible with
all the advanced weapons systems planned for development and fielding into the
1980s. The program was approved by the System Acquisition Review Council and
the Army prepared for competitive development to begin the next year. However,
as the Army tried to get the program off the ground, Congress declined to provide
funding for it in the fiscal year 1977 budget and the ASH Project Manager's
Office (PM-ASH) was closed on 30 September 1976.
While
no development occurred during the next few years, the program survived as a
requirement without funding. On 30 November 1979, the decision was made to
defer development of an advanced scout helicopter in favor of pursuing
modification of existing airframes in the inventory as a near term scout
helicopter (NTSH) option. The development of a mast-mounted sight would be the
primary focus to improve the aircraft's ability to perform reconnaissance,
surveillance, and target acquisition missions while remaining hidden behind
trees and terrain. Both the UH-1 and the OH-58 were evaluated as NTSH
candidates, but the UH-1 was dropped from consideration due to its larger size
and ease of detection. The OH-58, on the other hand demonstrated a dramatic
reduction in detectability with an MMS.
On
10 July 1980, the Army decided that the NTSH would be a competitive
modification program based on developments in the commercial helicopter
industry, particularly Hughes Helicopters development of the Hughes 500D which
provided significant improvements over the OH-6.
Army Helicopter
Improvement Program (AHIP)
The
Army's decision to acquire the NTSH resulted in the "Army Helicopter
Improvement Program (AHIP)". Both Bell Helicopter and Hughes Helicopters
redesigned their scout aircraft to compete for the contract. Bell offered a
more robust version of the OH-58 in their model 406 aircraft, and Hughes
offered an upgraded version of the OH-6. On 21 September 1981, Bell Helicopter
Textron was awarded a development contract. The first prototype flew on 6
October 1983, and the aircraft entered service in 1985 as the OH-58D.
Initially
intended to be used in attack, cavalry and artillery roles, the Army only
approved a low initial production level and confined the role of the OH-58D to
field artillery observation. The Army also directed that a follow-on test be
conducted to further evaluate the aircraft due to perceived deficiencies. On 1
April 1986, the Army formed a task force at Fort Rucker, Alabama, to remedy
deficiencies in the AHIP. As a result of those deliberations, the Army had
planned to discontinue the OH-58D in 1988 and focus on the LHX, but Congress
approved $138 million for expanding the program, calling for the AHIP to
operate with the Apache as a hunter/killer team; the AHIP would locate the
targets, and the Apache would destroy them in a throwback to the traditional
OH-58/AH-1 relationship.
The
Secretary of the Army directed instead that the aircraft's armament systems be
upgraded, based on experience with Task Force 118's performance operating armed
OH-58D helicopters in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Prime Chance,
and that the aircraft be used primarily for scouting and armed reconnaissance.
The armed aircraft would be known as the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, denoting its new
armed configuration. Beginning with the production of the 202nd aircraft (s/n
89-0112) in May 1991, all remaining OH-58D aircraft were produced in the Kiowa
Warrior configuration. In January 1992, Bell Helicopter received its first
retrofit contract to convert all remaining OH-58D Kiowa helicopters to the
Kiowa Warrior configuration.
Design
Mast mounted sight
The
OH-58D introduced the most distinctive feature of the Kiowa family — the Mast
Mounted Sight (MMS), which resembles a beach ball perched above the rotor
system. The MMS by Ball Aerospace & Technologies has a gyro-stabilized
platform containing a TeleVision System (TVS), a Thermal Imaging System (TIS),
and a Laser Range Finder/Designator (LRF/D). These new features gave the
aircraft the additional mission capability of target acquisition and laser designation
in both day or night, and in limited-visibility and adverse weather.
The
Mast Mounted Sight system was actually developed by the McDonnell Douglas Corp.
in Huntington Beach, CA. Production took place primarily at facilities in
Monrovia, CA. As a result of a merger with Boeing, and a later sale of the
business unit, the program is currently owned and managed by DRS Technologies,
with engineering support based in Cypress, CA, and production support taking
place in Melbourne, FL.
Wire Strike Protection
System
One
distinctive feature of operational OH-58s are the knife-like extensions above
and below the cockpit which is part of the passive Wire Strike Protection
System. It can protect 90% of the frontal area of the helicopter from wire
strikes that can be encountered at low altitudes by directing wires to the
upper or lower blades before they can entangle the rotor blade or landing
skids. The OH-58 was the first helicopter to test this system, after which the
system was adopted by the US Army for the OH-58 and most of their other
helicopters.
Operational history
Major
General John Norton, commanding general of the Army Aviation Materiel Command
(AMCOM), received the first OH-58A Kiowa at a ceremony at Bell Helicopter's
Fort Worth plant in May 1969. Two months later, on 17 August 1969, the first
production OH-58A Kiowa helicopters were arriving in Vietnam,
accompanied by a New Equipment Training Team (NETT) from the Army and Bell
Helicopters. Although the Kiowa production contract replaced the LOH contract
with Hughes, the OH-58A did not automatically replace the OH-6A in operation.
Subsequently, the Kiowa and the Cayuse would continue operating in the same
theater until the end of the war.
Vietnam
On
27 March 1970, an OH-58A Kiowa (s/n 68-16785) was shot down over Vietnam, one
of the first OH-58A losses of the war. The pilot, Warrant Officer Ralph Quick,
Jr., was flying Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Benoski, Jr. as an artillery spotter.
After completing a battle damage assessment for a previous fire mission, the
aircraft was damaged by .51 cal (13 mm) machine gun fire and crashed,
killing both crew members. Approximately 45 OH-58A helicopters were destroyed
in Vietnam due to combat and accidents. One of the last combat losses was of an
OH-58A (s/n 68-16888) from A Troop, 3-17th Cavalry, flown by First Lieutenant
Thomas Knuckey. On 27 May 1971, Lieutenant Knuckey was also flying a battle
damage assessment mission when his aircraft came under machine gun fire and
exploded. Knuckey and his observer, Sergeant Philip Taylor, both died in the
explosion.
Operation Prime Chance
In
early 1988, it was decided that armed OH-58D (AHIP) helicopters from the 118th
Aviation Task Force would be phased in to replace the SEABAT (AH-6/MH-6) teams
of Task Force 160th to carry out Operation Prime Chance, the escort of oil
tankers during the Iran–Iraq War. On 24 February 1988, two AHIP helicopters
reported to the Mobile Sea Base Wimbrown VII, and the helicopter team
("SEABAT" team after their callsign) stationed on the barge returned
to the United States. For the next few months, the AHIP helicopters on the
Wimbrown VII shared patrol duties with the SEABAT team on the Hercules.
Coordination was difficult, but despite frequent requests from TF-160, the
SEABAT team on the Hercules was not replaced by an AHIP detachment until June
1988. The OH-58D helicopter crews involved in the operation received deck
landing and underwater survival training from the Navy.
In
November 1988, the number of OH-58D helicopters that supported Task Force 118
was reduced. However, the aircraft continued to operate from the Navy's Mobile
Sea Base Hercules, the frigate Underwood, and the destroyer Conolly.
OH-58D operations primarily entailed reconnaissance flights at night, and
depending on maintenance requirements and ship scheduling, Army helicopters
usually rotated from the mobile sea base and other combatant ships to a land
base every seven to fourteen days. On 18 September 1989, an OH-58D crashed
during night gunnery practice and sank, but with no loss of personnel. When the
Mobile Sea Base Hercules was deactivated in September 1989, all but five OH-58D
helicopters redeployed to the continental United States.
RAID
In
1989, Congress mandated that the Army National Guard would be a player in the
country's War on Drugs, enabling them to aid federal, state and local
law enforcement agencies with "special congressional entitlements".
In response, the Army National Guard Bureau created the Reconnaissance and
Aerial Interdiction Detachments (RAID) in 1992, consisting of aviation units in
31 states with 76 specially modified OH-58A helicopters to assume the
reconnaissance/interdiction role in the fight against illegal drugs. During
1994, 24 states conducted more than 1,200 aerial counterdrug reconnaissance and
interdiction missions, conducting many of these missions at night. Eventually,
the program was expanded to cover 32 states and consisting of 116 aircraft,
including dedicated training aircraft at the Western Army Aviation Training
Site (WAATS) in Marana, Arizona.
The
RAID program’s mission has now been expanded to include the war against
terrorism and supporting U.S. Border Patrol activities in support of homeland
defense. The National Guard RAID units' Area of Operation (AO) is the only one
in the Department of Defense that is wholly contained within the borders of the
United States.
Operation Just Cause and
action in the 1990s
During
Operation Just Cause in 1989, a team consisting of an OH-58 and an AH-1 were
part of the Aviation Task Force during the securing of Fort Amador in Panama.
The OH-58 was fired upon by Panama Defense Force soldiers and crashed 100 yards
(91 m) away, in the Bay of Panama. The pilot was rescued but the co-pilot
died.
On
17 December 1994, Army Chief Warrant Officers (CWO) David Hilemon and Bobby
Hall left Camp Page, South Korea on a routine training mission along the
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Their flight was intended to be to a point known as
Checkpoint 84, south of the DMZ "no-fly zone", but the OH-58C Kiowa
strayed nearly four miles (6.4 km) into the Kangwon Province, inside North
Korean airspace, due to errors in navigating the snow-covered, rugged terrain.
The helicopter was shot down by North Korean troops and CWO Hilemon was killed.
CWO Hall was held captive and the North Korean government insisted that the
crew had been spying. Five days of negotiations resulted in the North Koreans
turning over Hilemon's body to U.S. authorities. The negotiations failed to
secure Hall's immediate release. After 13 days in captivity, Hall was freed on
30 December, uninjured.
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Shrink wrapped OH-58 Kiowa helicopters to
be shipped to Iraq.
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Operations in
Afghanistan and Iraq
The
United States Army has employed the OH-58D during Operation Iraqi
Freedom in Iraq and Operation
Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Due to combat and accidents, over
35 airframes have been lost, with 35 pilots killed. Their presence has also
been anecdotally credited with saving lives, having been used to rescue wounded
despite their small size.
Future
The
age of the helicopters and the loss of airframes resulted in the Armed
Reconnaissance Helicopter program to procure a new aircraft, the Bell ARH-70,
which was later cancelled in 2008 due to cost overruns. The current replacement
effort for the OH-58 is the Armed Aerial Scout program. Due to uncertainty in
the AAS program and fiscal restraints, planned retirement of the OH-58F Kiowa
has been extended from 2025 to 2036. The Kiowa's role as a scout aircraft is
being supplemented by tactical unmanned aerial vehicles. UAVs have acted in
cooperation with the OH-58 to provide reconnaissance with less risk to crews
compared to the helicopter operating alone. The OH-58F has to ability to
control UAVs directly to safely perform scout missions. The OH-58 Kiowa will
ultimately be replaced by the light version of the Future Vertical Lift
aircraft in the 2030s.
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Chief Warrant Officer Chris Elam (left) gets
help pushing his OH-58 Kiowa helicopter back into the hangar at the Tuzla Main
airfield after a mission over Bosnia and Herzegovina on April 18, 1997. Elam is
deployed as part of the Stabilization Force in Operation Joint Guard from the
2-1 Aviation Battalion, Schweinfurt, Germany.
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Canadian CH-136 Kiowa with 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, 1984
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OH-58C operated by the National Test
Pilot School at the Mojave Airport. The flat windscreen and the
IR suppressors on the exhaust can be clearly seen.
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OH-58D Kiowa. Note the lack of weapons
pylons.
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Bell Helicopter OH-58F test aircraft in
flight
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OH-58X Kiowa. Modified OH-58D prototype. Note
nose, pitch link cover and engine cowl area.
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