Everything about Oh-58 Kiowa totally explained
The
Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, observation and light attack
helicopters manufactured by
Bell Helicopter and originally based on the company's
Bell 206A JetRanger helicopter. The OH-58 Kiowa has been in continuous use by the
United States Army since its introduction in 1968. The latest model, the
OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, is primarily operated in an armed reconnaissance role in support of ground troops.
Development
Light Observation Helicopter (LOH)
In October 1960, the Army submitted a request for proposals (RFP) for the
Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). Bell, along with 12 other manufacturers (including
Fairchild-Hiller and
Hughes Tool Co. Aircraft Division), entered the competition. In January 1961, Bell proposed their Model 206 design, which was selected out of the design phase of the Navy-run competition by the Army and designated as the
YHO-4.
Bell produced five prototype aircraft in 1962 for the Army's test and evaluation phase. The first prototype flew on
8 December 1962. That same year, all aircraft began to be designated according to the new Joint Services designation system, so the prototype aircraft were redesignated as
YOH-4A. The YOH-4A also became known as the
Ugly Duckling in comparison to the other contending aircraft. During the testing phase, the test pilots complained about the power problems of the aircraft which eliminated it from consideration. 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 couldn't 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'd successfully marketed as the
FH-1100. 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. 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, and on
21 September 1981, Bell Helicopter Textron was awarded a development contract. The prototype flew in 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. However, based on experience with Task Force 118's performance operating armed OH-58D helicopters in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Prime Chance, the Secretary of the Army directed that the aircraft's armament systems be upgraded and that the aircraft be used primarily for scouting and armed reconnaissance.
Operational history
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 Wimbrown VII, and the SEABAT team 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 wasn't 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 Connolly. 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 inactivated 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 twenty-four 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's wholly contained within the borders of the
United States. One pilot was killed, the other survived and was taken prisoner by North Korea. He was released after several weeks in custody with minor injuries.
Iraq
In March 2003, OH-58D Kiowa Warriors were used by the United States Army during the invasion of Iraq. The age of the helicopters and the loss of airframes through accidents and combat, have resulted in a program to procure a new aircraft, the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter
ARH-70.
Variants
OH-58A
The
OH-58A Kiowa is a 4-place observation helicopter. The Kiowa has two-place pilot seating, although the controls in the left seat are designed to be removed to carry a passenger up front. Its primary mission is to locate the enemy and report the location and/or conduct calls for fire from artillery units nearby to destroy, disrupt or disable the enemy. During its Vietnam development, it was fitted with the
M134 Minigun, a 7.62 mm electrically operated machine gun.
74 OH-58A helicopters were delivered to the Canadian Armed Forces as
COH-58A and redesignated as
CH-136 Kiowa helicopters. The Australian Government also procured the OH-58A for the Australian Army. Produced under contract in Australia as the
CA-32, the aircraft was essentially the 206B-1 equivalent OH-58A (upgraded engine and longer rotor blades). The first twelve of 55 were built in the U.S. then partially disassembled and shipped to Australia where they were reassembled.
In 1978, OH-58A aircraft began to be converted to the same engine and dynamic components as the OH-58C. And, in 1992, 76 OH-58A were modified with another engine upgrade, a
thermal imaging system, a communications package for law enforcement, enhanced navigational equipment and high skid gear as part of the Army National Guard's (ARNG) Counter-Drug RAID program. The program called for these "OH-58A+" aircraft to be located in 31 states and the Western Army Aviation Training Site (WAATS). By the end of the summer of 1994, 24 states had their detachments operational. The program has currently been expanded to 32 states and a total of 116 aircraft.
OH-58C
Equipped with a more robust engine, the
OH-58C was supposed to solve many issues and concerns regarding the Kiowa's power. In addition to the upgraded engine, the OH-58C had unique IR suppression systems mounted on its turbine exhaust. Early "C" models featured flat-panel windscreens as an attempt to reduce glint from the sun, which could give away the aircraft's location to an enemy. The windscreens had a negative effect of limiting the forward view of the crew, a previous strength of the original design.
The aircraft were also equipped with a larger instrument panel, roughly a third bigger than the OH-58A panel, which held larger flight instruments. The panel was also equipped with
Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatible cockpit lighting. The lights inside the aircraft are modified to prevent them from interfering with the aircrews' use of NVGs. OH-58C aircraft were also the first U.S. Army scout helicopter to be equipped with the AN/APR-39 radar detector, a system which allowed the crew to know when there were anti-aircraft radar systems in proximity to the aircraft.
Some OH-58C aircraft were armed with two
AIM-92 Stingers. These aircraft are sometimes referred to as OH-58C/S, the "S" referring to the Stinger installation. Called Air-To-Air Stinger (ATAS), the weapon system was intended to provide an air defense capability for the Kiowas as they pulled security on the flanks, while the Apaches destroyed tanks in the Engagement Area (EA).
OH-58D
The
OH-58D (Bell Model 406) was the result of the Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP). It was a serious re-thinking of what was needed to be an effective scout aircraft. An upgraded transmission and engine gave it the power it needed, and a four-bladed main rotor made it much quieter than the two-bladed OH-58C. In addition, the OH-58D included the most distinctive feature of the family – a Mast-Mounted Sight (MMS) above the rotor system with 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.
Fifteen copies of a modified version of the OH-58D (sometimes referred to as the MH-58D) were sold to Saudi Arabia as the
Bell 406CS "Combat Scout". A Saab HeliTOW sight system
(External Link
) was opted for in place of the MMS. The sight was mounted on the roof of the aircraft, just above the left pilot seat.
(External Link) The 406CS also had detachable weapon hardpoints on each side.
Kiowa Warrior
The Kiowa Warrior is the armed version of the OH-58D Kiowa. The main difference that distinguishes the Kiowa Warrior from the original AHIP aircraft is a universal weapons pylon found mounted on both sides of the aircraft. These pylons are capable of carrying combinations of Hellfire missiles, Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS) missiles, 7-shot 2.75" (70mm) Hydra-70 rocket pods, and an M296 .50 caliber machine gun. The Kiowa Warrior upgrade also includes improvements in available power, navigation, communication and survivability, as well as modifications to improve the aircraft's deployability.
Operators
Royal Australian Navy - Former operator(External Link)
Bundesheer
;OH-58B
Canadian Forces - Former operator.(External Link)
;COH-58A/CH-136 (1971-1995)
Republic of China Army
;OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
- 601st Air Cavalry Brigade
- 602nd Air Cavalry Brigade
OH-58C
Royal Saudi Land ForcesSpecifications (OH-58D Kiowa Warrior)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Oh-58 Kiowa'.
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